Birth of a Sage
by Codename-ShadowFox
Summary: Stealth, Efficiency, Perception, Control, Perseverance. These are the five tenets that sensei has taught me, these are the five I live by. These are the five elements of the perfect shinobi, not the ninja of today but the legends of old. I am to be the new sage with the teachings of old, the lost principles. I am to become the child of prophecy, the savior or destroyer. Am I Fate?
1. Birth

Disclaimer** - **I don't own Naruto

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"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

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**Birth of a Sage: I**

_**One mile from Konoha - October 10th**_

Jiraiya was running as fast as he could, praying he was too late even though he already knew he was. About two weeks ago he started having odd nightmares about an obscure creature creating havoc, three days after he had the same nightmare and the creature resembled a fox, three days after that he could he it destroying what looked like a city, three days after the third nightmare he had the vision again and saw a giant fox destroying Konoha. He woke up on the twelfth day and followed his gut- and his gut was telling him to get to Konoha. Trouble was that he was in the Land of Earth... in the complete opposite direction of Konoha.

He had summoned multiple toads to aid with the travel these past two days and tonight he had saw his nightmares become reality... in the distance he could make out a large creature rampaging in Konoha's general direction. Then suddenly he could feel a faint coldness in the air, that grew more pronounced as he drew closer towards the beast. He was riding atop Gamatoro a medium-sized toad because Gamabunta always refused to be used as a taxi and unknown to him he was fighting the creature itself.

Jiraiya was about a mile away from the demon when he saw what looked like chains wrap around it and pin it down. The chains glowed a bright white, and only then in a moment of clarity through the past two weeks of worry could he finally figure out what must have happened. Jiraiya remembered that Kushina was pregnant with her and Minato's first child and the Kyuubi's seal is weakened during child-birth... it must have escaped somehow and Kushina was just not able to pin it down. _Hang on Kushina... Minato, I'm on my way. _He thought worriedly.

_**Meanwhile**_

'Shlunk'

A red claw pierced through both Kushina and Minato just as he finished the reaper death seal.

_I'm sorry for the burden I have placed on you my son. _"Kushi-chan... I guess this is the end."

Kushina was crying a bit as blood started flowing from her mouth. "Don't look so sad… Minato. I'm… I'm happy. Happy that you loved me. Happy that it's… our son's… birthday. Like… If I try to imagine surviving and the three of us… living together… I can't think of anything… beyond 'I'd be so happy.' If I had any regrets… It would be that I won't see Naruto grow up." She turned her head to her son who was crying on the ritual altar. "Naruto… you're going to experience a lot of pain and suffering. Remember who you are! Find a goal… a dream… and don't stop trying until it comes true. There's… there's so much more that I want to say… to teach you… I want to stay with you… I love you."

Minato chuckled a bit which turned into a coughing fit before he settled himself, the life slowly draining from his eyes. "Naruto… This is your dad. Listen… To your motor-mouth mother. Even though I have forced this burden on you... always know that I love you, son."

The last of Kyuubi was sucked into the seal and the two lovers fell next to each other, dead without the claw supporting them any longer.

_**With Jiraiya**_

He had just seen the Kyuubi be whittled down into almost nothing, assuming it was sealed away but he couldn't shake off the unnatural coldness in the air and his gut telling him that it was only about to get worse.

"Gamatora, I'm close enough to shunshin the rest of the way. Thank you for all of your help, and thank the rest of the clan for me as well." Jiraiya said suddenly.

"Very well, take care of yourself Jiraiya. This feeling of dread is... unsettling." The large toad said as he poofed away, followed by Jiraiya who disappeared in a gust of leaves only to reappear in a field, and seeing his old sensei already there.

"Old man! What the hell happened here? Why was the Kyuubi loose?" Jiraiya asked/demanded.

"Naruto's birth was interrupted... someone snuck into the village and ripped the Kyuubi out of Kushina-chan while the seal was still weakened." Jiraiya was now close enough to realise who the two bodies were - Minato and Kushina, while a baby boy cried near them.

"Who was it?"

"I'm not sure, but they killed my wife Biwako and the ANBU that were with them." Sarutobi said as he hung his head.

"Is Naruto fine at least?" Jiraiya walked over to the crying child who looked like an exact replica of Minato.

"Naruto-kun appears to be fine, but only time will tell if the seal will hold... Minato-kun was rushed trying to finish it after all." Sarutobi explained.

"Seal? What would a- ...he's a jinchuuriki now isn't he? That would certainly explain how a giant ass fox demon suddenly disappears." Jiraiya spoke in a saddened voice at his godson's new burden.

"Yes. I predict it will be hard for Naruto-kun growing up in the village." When Sarutobi said this, Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.

"The hell, he's living in the village!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

"What? What are you talking about Jiraiya? Konoha is the boy's home!" Sarutobi argued.

"Sensei, don't even fucking bother. We both know how jinchuuriki are treated and there is no way IN HELL that I'm letting Minato's son go through that. I'm taking Naruto with me, and he won't step foot in Konoha until he's ready and able to defend himself from possible threats." Jiraiya said firmly.

"Jiraiya, Minato gave his life so that Naruto could keep Konoha safe! It would not due his memory if you took Naruto out of the village he's meant to protect." Sarutobi tried arguing again.

"Sensei you even said it yourself, we're not sure if the seal will hold and if it doesn't then what then? I'll tell you what, Kyuubi is freed and Konoha is destroyed. If anyone could monitor the seal's integrity and strength It's me, and we both know I can't stay in the village full-time." Jiraiya countered.

"But-"

"God dammit sensei just stop! I'm Naruto's godfather and legal guardian now, and I'm taking him with me. And before you even try to say that the road is no place for a baby, I already know that and have someone in mind that could properly care for him until he's able to join me on the road." Jiraiya stated before picking up the baby Naruto and wrapping him blanket around him.

"I see..." Sarutobi said as he sighed. "Even if I don't like it, you're right Jiraiya. Just please promise me to keep Naruto-kun safe, and good luck Jiraiya."

Said sannin nodded and started walking off before stopping and turning around to look back at his sensei. "Old man, I know you will have to make some sort of statement to the council and the village. They will also wonder about the fate of the Yondaime and his pregnant wife. Tell them that his son still lives, and is safe. Don't worry about Iwa or Minato's other enemies... by the time we return to Konoha, I'll have Naruto trained and ready to take on anyone." He said before vanishing in a shunshin.

Sarutobi sighed once again and rubbed the back of his neck. _This is going to be a real pain. First the council is going to bitch about retrieving Minato's heir, then there's going to be all the nobles trying to set up marriages with him... then there's going to be grieving over Minato and Kushina's deaths... dammit._

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**AN - **The chapters for this story will be around 1000 words each because its easier to write 1000 words in one sitting than 3000, and I don't like writing a little then coming back to it later because then I usually forget the direction I was going for.


	2. Favour

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Naruto.

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"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

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**Birth of a Sage: II**

"Damn that Jiraiya! How the hell did I get stuck raising his godson while he runs around doing whatever the hell he does?" An irritated voice complained.

"Because we both know that Jiraiya-sama would do a terrible job raising a baby, Tsunade-sama." A much calmer voice replied.

"No one asked you Shizune!" Tsunade shot back.

"WAAAAAHHHH!" An infantile voice cried out.

"It seems that you have woken little Naruto, Tsunade-sama." Shizune pointed out.

"So fix him!" Tsunade ordered as the baby Naruto continued wailing.

"I... don't know how?" Shizune admitted. "I was an only child and we've traveled since I was seven so I'm not really sure what to do about a crying baby... sorry?"

"Ugh... DAMN THAT JIRAIYA!" Tsunade shouted again as her, Shizune, and Tonton walked along the road.

"How did lord Jiraiya convince you to watch after baby Naruto anyway?" Shizune asked and Tonton oinked in agreement.

"That bastard..." Tsunade went on to explain what happened.

_**Last Night**_

Jiraiya had his whole spy network on alert for Tsunade and after a week of waiting in a house he had a few miles out of Konoha he was informed that they found her in a small town near the northern border of fire country.

Jiraiya looked down at the wrapped up bundle and smiled. "Well kid, time to go meet your mom for the next few years... you know I'm actually kinda jealous of you *giggle* if you're lucky Tsunade might just breastfeed you. Kami-sama if she did you'd never go hungry. I bet those babies could store two whole gallons of milk." Jiraiya said with a perverted grin. "Well, let's go. We've got a bit of a trip and I'd rather get there sooner than later. I'm not even completely sure how I've kept you alive so far."

He picked up Naruto and got ready for the trip to the town. After six hours of non-stop traveling he arrived at the small town and quickly found Tsunade at the only bar that was established.

"Hell no."

"Come one Tsu-hime!"

"I said no Jiraiya! I don't care what girl you knocked-up, I'm not raising your child!" Tsunade protested as she started walking away.

"...That's mean Tsunade. Plus It's not my son, It's Kushina's." That stopped Tsunade in her tracks.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"What... what happened to her?"

"The Kyuubi got free somehow... her and Minato are dead."

"DEAD? How? When did this happen?"

"Two weeks ago. Tsu-chan, I need this one favor from you... please. All I need is three years, just three! By then I'll have everything ready to properly raise a boy while on the road, and you and I both know I can't keep moving while looking after a baby, at least when he's three he'll be able to walk on his own and talk." Jiraiya pleaded.

"TH-THREE YEARS! You want to drop a baby on me for three freaking years?" Tsunade asked with indignation.

"Tsunade, I'm begging you here! It was this or I leave Naruto in Konoha, and there's no way in hell I'm doing that." Jiraiya said with a hint of sadness.

Now Tsunade was intrigued. "Why? I'm sure Sarutobi-sensei could get someone to watch the boy."

"No. That council full of pompous civilian asses will ask who he is, why he's there, and due to a lie that sensei probably told them about Kushina's child which they assumed died with her, they will demand explanations." Jiraiya told her.

"Ok you still haven't explained why he would not be welcomed. If anything I would assume he be treated like royalty as Minato's son."

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But... like I said before the Kyuubi got free of Kushina's seal, and Minato had to do something about it." Jiraiya said with a hint of sadness as he said his former pupil's name.

"You... you don't mean?"

"Minato could never ask another to sacrifice their child if he couldn't do so with his own. The night of the Kyuubi attack, Minato used the Shiki Fuujin to seal the Kyuubi inside of Naruto. He's the new Kyuubi jinchuuriki." Jiraiya explained.

"I see..."

"Yeah, now you understand right? We both know the lives that jinchuuriki live and having Naruto as the one for the very demon that had just finished destroying the village and slaughtering countless shinobi would have caused outrage and calls for his death, even if he is Minato's son. I took him out of the village for his own protection and plan on taking him back just before he would be due to graduate from the academy." Jiraiya told her.

"Hmm. So when he's twelve?"

"Yes. So... will you do it Tsunade?"

"You don't really leave me much of a choice here, baka."

Jiraiya smiled widely. "I you one Tsu-hime. Don't worry, I'm sure these next three years will fly by! Oh and say hi to Shizune-chan for me." He said before handing Tsunade the wrapped bundle that was the sleeping baby.

Tsunade gave a heavy sigh. "It's not like I could in good conscience allow you to raise a baby. You would probably feed him sake and noodles."

"Just the noodles, the sake is mine." He joked.

"Get out of here you idiot, before I change my mind." Tsunade told him.

"...Thanks again Tsunade. I'll keep in contact." With that, the spy master was gone.

"Naruto huh?" Tsunade said as she pulled back the blanket just as the baby Naruto stirred. And started crying... loudly. Tsunade sighed again. _What did I just get myself into?_


	3. Goodbyes

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Naruto.

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"Normal speech"

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_Thoughts_

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**Birth of a Sage: III**

For the past three grueling years Tsunade and Shizune had raised Naruto. Tsunade tried as best she could not to get attached to the boy, since she knew he would be taken away by Jiraiya eventually but much to her dismay she couldn't help but grow fond of the blonde, and Shizune quickly adopted him as her younger brother.

But today was the day, Jiraiya had sent word a week ago that he was coming for Naruto and he was scheduled to arrive today. At first she didn't care what Jiraiya did with him after retrieving him after the first three years but now she wasn't sure that handing a three-year-old over to the world's biggest pervert was a great idea. They were waiting in the restaurant that he specified as they waited for him to show up.

_I swear to Kami-sama if he makes Naruto a pervert, I'm breaking every bone in his body again. _Tsunade mentally promised herself.

Next to her was a severely depressed Shizune who had grown incredibly attached to Naruto and dotted on his every need, and now she knew that her little brother was being taken away from her. Deep down she always knew he would be one day, but she always denied it.

"Nee-chan, are you sad?" Naruto asked with a tilted head.

"OH! No, no! Don't worry about me Naruto-kun!" Shizune was quick to put up a fake smile but Naruto was able to sense it.

"But I can feel it. You're smiling but sad." Naruto replied much to the shock of both Tsunade and Shizune.

"You... you can feel it? What do you mean by that Naruto?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't know kaa-chan but I can feel nee-chan sad, you too kaa-chan but you try to hide it." Naruto answered.

_Is Naruto a sensor type? Hmm... neither Minato nor Kushina were but I suppose It's possible. _Tsunade thought to herself.

"Naruto-kun how long have you been able to do this?" Shizune asked.

"Umm... always? I can feel when people are sad, happy, or mad. When they are mad It's stronger." Naruto answered.

"Why didn't you tell us this before Naruto?" Tsunade asked.

"I dunno. Can't you do it?" Naruto asked innocently.

"No. Neither Shizune nor I have that ability." She answered.

"Oh..." Naruto said with a nod, "Why are you sad?" He suddenly asked.

"Because you're going to go live with your godfather from now on. Back when you were a baby Jiraiya asked us to take care of you until you were old enough to walk and talk, and he's coming to pick you up today." Tsunade told him but she had turned her head so she didn't have to look into his deep blue eyes because she knew she wouldn't be able to say it if she did.

After saying this Shizune burst into tears and hugged Naruto for all she was worth, while he was desperately trying to catch his breath. "Shi... nee... can't... breath." She quickly realised what she was doing after hearing his forced out words and let him go.

"Sorry Naruto-kun! Are you ok?" She asked worriedly, as tears still slid down her cheeks.

"I'm... fine... nee-chan." Naruto said as he took in gulps of air.

"Man, what's with this depressing atmosphere?" A gruff voice said from behind them. All three of them turned to a large white-haired man in a red and green get-up. "I swear I felt Shizune's sadness a mile away."

"Jiraiya... speaking of feeling emotions, we need to talk real quick." Tsunade said as she stood up and lead the toad sage away.

"Feeling emotions, eh? Does that mean that you've finally realised your love for me and wish to make it *giggle* official?" Jiraiya asked with a pervy grin.

"This is serious you idiot." Tsunade shot back. "I think Naruto might be a sensor."

"Oh?" Gone was the pervert and now the seasoned shinobi was out. "How so?"

"Naruto is like you... he can feel emotions." Tsunade answered.

Now Jiraiya was surprised. "I only get that ability because I'm a sage, so if Naruto has it then that means It's natural." He said more to himself as he gave this some serious thought. "That's a problem."

"How?"

"Tell me Tsunade, how long have you known?"

"Only for maybe five minutes. Naruto said he could sense our sadness." She replied.

"Have you noticed any... personality quirks about him? Is he abnormally quiet or reserved? Depressed perhaps?"

"Depressed? What the hell? How could a three-year-old be depressed!" Tsunade asked.

"Just a simple question. So any of the above? Any signs of emotion... instability?" Jiraiya asked seriously.

"No, why?"

"Do you remember how I was after I returned from Mount Myoboku when I completed my sage training and first activated it in the human realm?"

"You suddenly broke down and cried before passing out."

"Exactly. In sage mode I could feel the emotions of those around me for miles. The hatred, anger, sadness. I could feel their happiness and joy also but hatred and anger are incredibly strong emotions and we were at war so those feelings ran rampant, along with extreme sadness. It was too much for me to handle all at once, and my mind shut down from emotional overload."

"I fear that in time Naruto's sensing abilities will grow stronger and he would have to deal with constantly feeling that everyday. Luckily I only passively feel the emotions of others after so many years of being a sage and have learned to deal with it but I only actively feel them like Naruto when I turn on sage mode."

Jiraiya sighed before continuing. "That's why I was concerned for his emotional health. Can you imagine having to feel the hatred, anger, sorrow, and joy of others while still having to learn to deal with your own? For a three-year old that is asking too much. I may have to avoid cities completely and send out shadow clones to meet my contacts. Kami knows what would happen to him in a large population while he's unable to control his sensing abilities." Jiraiya explained before sitting down on a bench outside of the restaurant.

Tsunade was speechless. Now Naruto's newfound ability sounds more like a horrible curse than a gift. "I'll have to come with you to look after his mental health then." She stated firmly.

"No can do Tsunade. You and I both know that two sannin traveling together is about as inconspicuous as me riding around on Gamabunta. It'll be hard enough to travel unnoticed with Naruto with me, but two more would be impossible." Jiraiya told her.

"But-"

"I know you're worried for him, but I'll show him how to deal with it." He said before smiling at her, "I've had to deal with a similar problem after all, so who better to teach him to control it than me?"

Tsunade had to admit that the old pervert made a good point, but was still unsure about leaving Naruto to deal with it alone. "Don't worry Tsu-him, I'll take care of the boy. I promise you'll get to see him again eventually but for now I need to hide him away under a rock somewhere while I teach him how to control his emotions. And no I won't go all Danzo on him and force him to kill his best friend." Jiraiya told her.

She smiled at his attempted humor before nodding. "I suppose you are the best one for the job. Just promise me you'll keep him safe."

"Of course. Now I've promised you, sensei, and Minato. Pressure much?" Jiraiya said with a grin.

Tsunade smiled again and lightly smacked him in the head. "Just get in there and meet your godson, you idiot."

"Think he'll remember me?"

"Yep because all babies remember some random guy that took care of them for a week."

"Eh... good point."

As the two sannin walked in they noticed that Naruto had turned towards them and was staring at Jiraiya curiously. Jiraiya walked up to the boy and kneeled down so they were at eye level.

"Hello Naruto. My name's Jiraiya and I'm your godfather." He introduced himself.

"So that was you? I sometimes see you in my dreams."

"Huh?" Jiraiya asked confused.

"I sometimes dream about being carried by a big man with white hair. I think it was the first thing I remember."

"HA!" Jiraiya turned to Tsunade. "And you said a week old baby wouldn't remember me."

"Guess there's a first for everything?" Tsunade grumbled.

"So Naruto, how about we order some food and get to know each other?"

"OK." Naruto nodded and pointed at the bowl of ramen on the menu. "I want ramen."

Jiraiya smiled. "Ramen it is. So Naruto how have you been these past three years?"

"Good. I've had a lot of fun with kaa-chan and nee-chan." Naruto said with a smile. It always stabbed Tsunade in the heart when she heard him call her kaa-chan, for more than one reason.

"You can talk pretty well for a three-year old." Jiraiya praised.

"Oh yes, Naruto-kun was quick to pick-up talking and even though he's quiet most of the time, he's really very smart." Shizune continued, "And as you could see from earlier, Naruto-kun has always had a good memory."

"Indeed. It should make training him much easier." Jiraiya said with a grin.

Naruto wondered what that meant but stayed quiet, and merely observed. "So you're going to train him?" Tsunade asked.

"Of course, It's what they would have wanted after all." Jiraiya said and Tsunade nodded.

They talked for an hour more before they headed back to the hotel room they were staying at to pack Naruto's things, Shizune was crying the whole way and Tsunade wasn't doing better but due to her years of training she was able to rein in her emotions.


	4. Toad

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Naruto.

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"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

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**Birth of a Sage: IV**

After saying their goodbyes Naruto and Jiraiya departed from the small town that Tsunade and Shizune were in. surprisingly Naruto didn't make a big fuss about leaving but did feel sad about it.

"Don't feel too bad Naruto, I promise you'll get to see them again ok?" Jiraiya told him.

Naruto nodded. "I'm going to miss kaa-chan and nee-chan but now I get to meet my tou-san!"

Jiraiya almost face-vaulted but caught himself in time. "Tou-san? I'm not your dad, kid."

"Didn't you say you were my father?" Naruto asked as he tilted his head in confusion.

"No I'm your godfather, and Tsunade was like your godmother. Something happened to your real parents so they asked me to take care of you. I wasn't ready or able to take care of a baby so I asked Tsunade to take care of you until you were old enough to come with me." Jiraiya explained.

"What happened to them?"

Jiraiya sighed. "I'll tell you when you're a little older ok?"

Naruto could sense the sadness in Jiraiya so he just nodded. "Ok."

Jiraiya was glad that the boy didn't press him any further but he was sure it was because he sensed his sadness over Minato and Kushina's deaths. For a child he seemed to have a good understanding of emotions so far, which will help him deal with the torrents of emotions he would feel when he entered a city later in life or if Kami forbid war was ever upon them again. Desperate to rid such thoughts from his mind he decided to change the subject. "Hey Naruto?"

"Hm?" Naruto looked up at him.

"Did Tsunade ever tell you about ninjas?"

Naruto nodded. "Kaa-chan said that her and nee-chan were ninjas and that a lot more in the world. Kaa-chan and nee-chan can make their hands green and fix people."

"That's right. Tsunade and Shizune are known as medic-nin, instead of fighting they prefer to heal people, but you should never underestimate a medic just because they're healers. Trust me Tsunade can destroy a house with one punch and Shizune can create poisons that could take down a boss summon."

"Boss summon?"

"Didn't Tsunade ever show you her summons?"

"The talking snails?"

"Slugs, but close enough."

Naruto nodded. "I saw some of them."

"Want to meet my summons?"

"You can make slugs too?"

"No... better!" Jiraiya said before doing his dance and summoning his toad familiar before announcing himself as the toad-sage Jiraiya-sama.

"That's a big frog." Naruto said as he looked at the large toad that Jiraiya was stood upon.

Jiraiya sweatdropped, and the toad croaked in annoyance. "Not a frog kid, a toad! Didn't you hear the whole TOAD-sage speech?"

"So a toad is a big frog?"

"No, they're completely different! Like how snails and slugs are different." Jiraiya explained.

"Oh. I like frogs, but I like the big toad too." Naruto said as he walked up to the large toad and placed his hand on it. He smiled a second afterwards. "He feels wet, and bumpy."

"Yeah, that's toads for you kid." Jiraiya said as he got down. "His name's Gama."

"Naruto looked at the toad in the eyes and smiled again. "Hi Gama!"

The toad croaked in acknowledgment, but didn't say anything. "Gama is one of the toads that can't actually talk, but most can." Jiraiya said as he asked the toad to open It's mouth. "Naruto, would you like to be a toad summoner as well?"

"You mean I can make toads too?" Naruto asked the man.

"Well no, you don't make the toads you just ask them to come from where they live to help you." He explained.

"Oh. Where do they live?" Naruto asked.

"Mount Myoboku. It's the land of the toads." Jiraiya told him.

"There's a place with only toads? Can we go there?" Naruto asked.

"An inquisitive one aren't you?" _Just like you're father, _"And to answer your question, yes. We'll go there eventually."

"Cool!" Naruto said excitedly.

_He's quiet most of the time, but when he's happy, excited, or curious he's a real chatter-box. Better than being depressed all the time. _"So what do you say Naruto, wan't to become a toad summoner?"

"Yeah!"

"Do you know how to write your name yet?"

Naruto nodded. "Nee-chan showed me how."

"Ok." Jiraiya said as he unfurled the scroll, "Don't be scared, but I need you to write your name right here" He pointed at an empty life under a box, "and then place your fingerprints on the box in your blood."

"In my blood?" Naruto asked more questioningly than afraid.

"Only enough to sign your name and then coat your fingerprints." Jiraiya pulled out a kunai and asked Naruto to lend him his right hand, "This will hurt a bit but it will be over before you know it." He reassured the boy, who still didn't look too worried.

"Ok." Naruto said as he opened his right hand, and Jiraiya lightly poked his thumbed with the kunai, drawing blood. He flinched slightly but tapped his four fingers against his bleeding thumb and stamped them in the box where Jiraiya said, before somewhat sloppily writing his name on the line. "Like that?"

Jiraiya was impressed that Naruto didn't fuss over his thumb and was able to do exactly what he said. "Yeah, that was great kid. Here let me get you a band-aid for your thumb." He said as he looked into his pack but was stopped by Naruto.

"I'm fine." Naruto said before sticking his thumb into his mouth and a few seconds later it was fully healed. "See." He said as he showed Jiraiya his thumb. "I'm don't get hurt for long. Kaa-chan told me that I heal faster than most people. If It's tiny I can lick it and it goes away faster."

_He licks his wounds... like a fox. It's most likely the fox's influence that heals him and I guess that it has an increased effect if he literally licks his wounds. Interesting... _"Well that's good then. Oh and congratulations on being the third generation toad-summoner! When you're chakra coils grow a bit more I'll show you how to summon a toad."

"Does this mean that I'm a ninja like kaa-chan now too?"

"Do you want to be?"

Naruto nodded. "I've seen some other ones and they can do really cool things. I want to be a ninja just like them!"

"Then I'll train you to be one, but I have to warn you that being a ninja is not just fun and games. It's really hard work and a lot of personal sacrifice." Jiraiya warned the boy.

Naruto looked down for a moment before looking Jiraiya in the eyes with determination. "I promise to be the best ninja I can be! I'll work hard and do whatever you tell me to tou-san!"

Jiraiya smiled. "Well then, let's get a start on that shall we? First we'll start with the oldest and most important yet underappreciated shinobi skill... stealth."


	5. Tenets

Disclaimer** - **I don't own Naruto

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"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

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_Thoughts_

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: V**

"Hmm... if I were a three-year-old and I wanted to hide from a legendary shinobi, where would I hide?" Jiraiya asked himself as he searched the forest for Naruto. "Damn kid is doing better than I thought he would."

Jiraiya had taught Naruto about stealth tactics and techniques to hide in plain sight that didn't need chakra for weeks now and this was his first field test. Needless to say the boy lived up to his promise and studied hard, learning everything he could so he could grow up to be a great shinobi like his parents and godparents.

Jiraiya's first lesson was obviously stealth seeing as they would need to be sneaky while on the road. Naruto seemed to have a knack at it because so far he couldn't spot the kid, or even his chakra. Jiraiya was hoping to pick up on either the feelings of fear, anxiety, or adrenalin but nothing so far. He was starting to get worried that maybe Naruto had gone somewhere else.

Meanwhile Naruto was leaned up against a tree, putting his breathing control exercises to good use. He could sense a hint of annoyance and what felt like worry to the south so he tried to avoid that general direction. So far he was able to keep his own emotions in check like Jiraiya taught him and if one were to see his face at the moment, all they would see is a blank slate.

_Tou-san hasn't found me yet and I can feel him kinda far away. _Naruto had an urge to peek around the tree but suppressed it, and instead got ready to move away as he could sense Jiraiya moving closer. He quickly sprinted to the next tree, being careful to avoid bushes and fallen branches. People should use branches over security systems because it seems that one snapped twig makes the same sound as glass shattering loudly.

_Ok looks clear, next tree! Rule #16 Keep moving! _Naruto ran through the shadows to the next tree, and then the next one. He was starting to move behind Jiraiya in a circle, when suddenly *CRACKLE* he flinched and stood still before looking down at the dry leaf he just stepped on that might as well have been a fire alarm.

"Not bad." An aged voice said from behind him, making him sigh. "Hey, hey, none of that. You did a lot better than I expected. I can already tell with a few years of training you'll be a stealth master. A true ninja."

"I promise I'll do better next time Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto said with his head down.

Jiraiya just smiled. "I know you will, kid. Now how about we make camp and I'll let you eat one of those ramen cups as a reward for doing so well today?"

"Really?" Naruto asked as he looked up hopefully.

"Yep, but tomorrow you're going back to the normal diet." Jiraiya told him. Even though he joked about it before he couldn't raise the kid on noodles alone.

"Hai, tou-san!" Naruto agreed happily.

"For the last time I'm not your... ugh what's the point? You're still probably going to call me that anyway aren't you?" Jiraiya asked with a sigh.

"Well since my tou-san isn't here and you're taking care of me as my godfather you are sorta like my dad, like how Tsunade-kaachan is my mom." Naruto reasoned.

Jiraiya sweatdropped. _Minato looks like you passed on your genius to your brat. Damn kid is too smart for his own good. _He just shook his head and shrugged. "Whatever, call me what you want."

"Tou-san it is!" Naruto said with a grin, "Now come on tou-san let's find a river, I want me ramen!"

"Alright, alright! Hold your horses there gaki." Jiraiya said before catching up to the boy and helping him search for a river to draw water from.

An hour later they had set up camp and were just relaxing after having eaten. "So Naruto, how were you able to hide so well?" Jiraiya asked with interest.

"I told you tou-san, I promised I would be the best ninja possible and this is just the beginning! I did exactly what you told me to and lowered my 'presence' like the ancient shinobi. At first I thought it meant calming yourself down but then after focusing for a while I was able to find it, the hard part was lowering it." Naruto then lowered his head as he stared directly into the fire, contemplating his next words, "I also... felt... something else inside of me. It felt like it was mad, really mad, but also like it was falling asleep."

_Could he have stumbled upon the Kyuubi? Or just felt part of It's rage? _"Wait... asleep?" Jiraiya asked in confusion.

"Yeah you know how you feel when your really tired."

"Exhausted?"

"I think so. Anyway it felt like it was really mad but to tierd to do anything. It was confusing." Naruto explained and Jiraiya nodded, thinking his words through.

"So you say you found your presence huh?"

"Mhm."

"And you can lower it?"

"Yup!"

"Can you use it?"

"Umm... no?"

"But you can find it right?"

"If I think about it for a bit, yeah."

"Ok Naruto, that presence you feel is what we ninja call 'Chakra' It's what powers us and makes if special from normal people. Honestly I'm amazed that you found your chakra this early in your life never mind figuring out how to lower it. If you can find your chakra and harness it then it will speed up your ninja training by a few years. Most kids find their chakra around five years old, others from clans have blood lines that allow them earlier access or they're trained to find it earlier." Jiraiya explained.

"Chakra, huh?"

"Yup. You remember that green light Tsunade used to heal people? That's chakra." Jiraiya said before coating his hand in normal blue chakra, "There are multiple colors of chakra. Green heals, blue is general chakra, and red... well let's skip red for now." Jiraiya said nervously as he almost let what red chakra means slip.

Naruto nodded in acceptance but said nothing, motioning for Jiraiya to continue.

"Anyway, find your chakra, try to mold it and bring it out, when you can I'll start teaching you jutsu." Jiraiya told him.

"Jutsu?"

"Oh yeah! Jutsu are what makes ninja's, ninja. We use chakra and usually special hand signs to mold our chakra into special forms."

"Hmm."

"Chakra can be molded into med jutsu, elemental jutsu, non-elemental jutsu, and like me and eventually you senjutsu."

"Senjutsu?"

"The way of the sages. I'll tell you more about that when you're ready, but for now we'll focus on elemental and non-elemental jutsu. Elemental jutsu consists of Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water and the sub-elements. With me so far?"

"Yup. 5 Elements."

"Ok most people think that elemental weaknesses/strengths to other elements are clear-cut. Fire beats Wind beats Lightning beats Water beats Fire. This is not true however. You see jutsu also follow the laws of physics. Water conducts electricity so It's both a strength and a weakness. Wind makes fire stronger but can also put out flames instantly if there's no oxygen to burn. Fire can boil water and make it evaporate, so on and so forth. Point is that there is never a clear path in the ninja world, It's filled with deception.

"Say you have a fire user up against a wind user. Naturally the fire user is at an advantage as any wind jutsu would only increase the potency of his fire jutsu. But if the wind user is competent he'll find a way to snuff out the flames, and surprise the fire user. Understand?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto nodded, "I think so. So If a water guy and a lightning guy fought and the water guy shoots water and the lightning guy does his jutsu, they would combine right? The lightning would go up the water and hit the wat guy and if the water jutsu landed it would shock the lightning guy too?" Naruto asked.

"Exactly. That's a very good example of when doing stupid things comes back to bite you. Sure the Raiton user shocked the Suiton one, but if he didn't dodge the charged water jutsu and got hit by it then he pretty much screwed him self over as well." Jiraiya said with a nod.

"Raiton?"

"Oh right, I haven't explained the release names yet. Raiton is for lightning jutsu, Suiton of for water, Katon for fire, Futon for wind, and Doton for earth. So if I wanted to do a fire jutsu I'd make the hand signs, which I'll teach you later, call out Katon and then the name of the technique to activate it. Each jutsu uses a different amount of chakra and if you ever run out... well you die."

"I see." Naruto was enthralled by all of this new information, storing it away for future reference.

"I'm not going too fast for you am I?" Jiraiya asked.

"No, I got it all. I usually only need to see or hear something once to remember it." Naruto answered.

_So he got your photographic memory too, eh Minato? _"Good, good. That'll make things easier, I hate repeating myself." Jiraiya said with a smile.

"What's next tou-san?" Naruto asked excitedly at the thought of learning more.

"Well that's it."

"Aww."

"Go to sleep Naruto, tomorrow we'll work on tapping into your chakra."

"OK!" Naruto shouted before shooting into the tent.

"Wait!"

"Nani?" Naruto asked as he poked his head out.

"What are the five tenets?" Jiraiya asked.

"Stealth, Efficiency, Perception, Control, and Perseverance!" Naruto answered.

"And what does each one mean?"

"**Stealth** is the life of the shinobi. Everything is done in shadows, and misdirection. **Efficiency** is using ones abilities, and resources to achieve the best results. **Perception** is being away of anything and everything, constantly looking underneath the underneath. The least suspicious things are usually the most dangerous. **Control **is the mind of the shinobi. Control in everything- one's environment, one's situation, one's enemy and most importantly oneself. **P****erseverance **is the will of the shinobi. The will no never give up, and never give in. Even retreat is an act of self-perseverance as one will train to become stronger and strengthen their will to overcome challenges that were previously too difficult. These of the ancient principles and the sacred shinobi doctrine, and as a future shinobi I pledge to live my life by these laws." Naruto recited.

"Then I shall show you the way."


	6. Jutsu

Disclaimer** - **I don't own Naruto

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: VI**

**Three Years Later (Naruto age 6)**

A boy and an older man were standing in the middle of a flowing river, above the water. Most people would think that this would be impossible, but those people obviously haven't seen a ninja before.

"Again!"

**"Katon: Fire Bullet!" **The boy shouted as a large fireball shot out of his mouth, directly into a waterfall quickly turning it into steam.

"Not enough, I want you to completely engulf the width of the waterfall and literally split it in half due to rapid evaporation. When you can do that, I'll consider this jutsu mastered." An older voice spoke behind the boy, "Again."

Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. The boy could feel the chakra created oil in his mouth, and the flames in his belly. He bellowed, **"Katon: Fire Bullet!" **took a deep breath and fired. The oil-enhanced fireball screamed towards the waterfall, and the size of it stopped the flow for a second before it resumed.

The older man behind him smiled proudly. "Good job Naruto. That's another C-rank under your belt. Heh, you're getting good at this."

Naruto turned around and grinned at the older man, "Thanks tou-san! It's all thanks to your teachings!" Naruto had grown rapidly in the last three years due to his training and diet, and was now 4'6 with long spiky hair that reached down to his shoulders, and wore an open black shirt with red lining on the inside, along with a mesh undershirt. He also work a pair of black pants and standard black ninja sandals.

"You're damn right it is, " He chuckled before patting Naruto on the shoulder, "How goes your studies?"

"I finished reading the scroll on Gionjutsu. I've practiced on my cricket noise like the scroll said but I can't seem to get it right." Naruto said as he demonstrated, his impression of a cricket that was somewhat off.

"Hm. Well that can only be fixed through practice, so keep at it. What about your emotional control?" Jiraiya asked as he led them back towards the camp they made earlier.

"Still kinda hard to control. I've tried but singling out one person with it is kinda hard." Naruto answered.

"Don't worry, you'll get it eventually."

"So what am I learning next?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Well, I've wanted to put this off for as long as possible until you have the chakra control necessary but now that you've mastered the kunai balancing, tree walking, and water walking techniques I suppose you're ready. As you remember when we started your training I showed you the three jutsu required to pass the academy. Your substitutions were spot-on, your henge is damn near perfect to the point that even I was fooled, but your clone techniques for lack of a better word... sucked. Majorly. Like to the point where I wanted to burst out laughing when I literally saw one of them kill-over-"

Naruto's eye started twitching at the reminder of his greatest weakness. "Get to the point?" He interrupted.

"Ahem. Right, well the point is that you need a clone technique. I'm going to teach you the shadow clone jutsu. This will be your first B-rank supplementary jutsu. Two very important things to note about this jutsu is that the chakra used for the jutsu is evenly distributed throughout the clones you make, and they continuously draw chakra from you to stay alive. The other is that anything a clone experiences is transferred back to the user, since it was first created as a scouting technique." Jiraiya explained.

"Sounds cool. So if the clones are constantly siphoning chakra from me, does that mean they can do jutsu also?" Naruto asked.

"Yup. Now the shadow clone jutsu has two main disadvantages. One, they obviously constantly take chakra so if one isn't careful their clones will literally suck them dry. This isn't as big a concern to you seeing as your chakra reserves rival mine, but you should still be careful. Second, clones die in one hit. You can make them more durable by either adding more chakra to them or adding an element. I use the Doton: Kage Bunshin, because it has the durability of earth clones with the added effect of giving me It's memories. For you we would need either a fire or wind shadow clone, but you can work on that in your spare time. Now it only requires the clone hand sign like so," Jiraiya demonstrated by doing a half ram sign with his right and placing another half ram sign horizontally with his left over it to form a cross.

"Call out the name and then think of how many clones, and how much chakra you want to use. You can either use a large amount of chakra to summon a group of clones, a large amount to make one or a few clones stronger than normal, or a small amount of chakra to make weak clones that you can keep barely sustained but will cost little chakra as upkeep. This method is generally used for scouting purposes, spying, or as sentries." Jiraiya told him.

"Sentries?"

"Shadow clones are sentient, which means that they are alive and copies of yourself. If a clone pulls out a kunai and stabs a guy, then he really did stab a guy and he's probably going to bleed out. Anyway I use clones as lookouts like this by having them henge into trees and rocks for stationary sentries and animals for patrols. If a clone sees something that I should know right away, they dispel themselves and the clone's memories are transferred to me, and I know what he knew."

"Oh I get it now. It's an instant warning for either danger or something important that you need to know right away. That's pretty awesome." Naruto said with a smile.

"That's not the best part about that ability though." Jiraiya said with a grin.

"Oh?"

"Yep. See I learned long ago that this method could also be used as training. Everything a clone learns and experiences, you learn when it dispels. So say a clone learns a jutsu, and dispels, then you instantly know how to do that jutsu. Now you will still need to practice it yourself to learn how to do it first-hand but with enough clones you could master a jutsu in a few days and not the month it took you to master the fire bullet technique." Jiraiya explained.

Naruto was about to say something but Jiraiya halted him with a raised hand. "I bet you want to ask why I didn't teach you this earlier right?'

"Well... yeah."

"If I would have taught you this method of rapid training early on then you wouldn't have learned the importance of hard work and would have looked for shortcuts to everything and would never to truly master a jutsu. I tell you this because I've seen it hundreds of times before, in the Uchiha clan. You remember them right?"

"The Sharingan users?"

"Yep. And what does the sharingan do?"

"It provides those jutsu stealing bastards a way to copy your hard-earned jutsu in the blink of an eye."

"Precisely. Those smug bastards think that just because they can steal jutsu with their eyes that they actually mastered it. Most of the time they get away with it because their dojutsu allows them to trick the enemies' mind and use their inferior versions of the stolen jutsu to beat the original users."

"So you didn't want me to end up like them?"

"Exactly. The Uchiha have a short-cut and use it at any chance they get, and don't bother to work hard to learn their own jutsu. I wanted you to learn the value of hard-work and if I had shown you the shadow clone jutsu early on then you would have turned out just like them."

"I understand sensei! I'll use this new jutsu to enhance my training, but I'll still push myself to my limits to fully master anything I learn!" Naruto promised.

"Good. It's getting late though so I want you to go to sleep for now and we can work on the kage bunshin tomorrow."

"Hai tou-san!" Naruto said before crawling into his tent.

Jiraiya smiled. _You'd be proud of your boy Minato. He's got Kushina's passion and personality, with your smarts and looks. Kid will be a heart-breaking super shinobi. *Giggle* I might just have to give him the talk sooner than later if the amount of fangirls you had were anything to go by._

* * *

**Gionjutsu - **The art of false sounds._  
_


	7. Seals

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: VII**

**(Three Years Later - Naruto age 9)**

Today Naruto was studying his fuuinjutsu scrolls diligently. At the age of seven Jiraiya introduced him to the sealing arts in hopes that his Uzumaki heritage would shine through. Naruto took to fuuinjutsu like a fish to water, seeing as his father was a sealing genius and his entire family on his mother's side was full of seal-masters.

Lately he's been working on mid-level seals based on gravity. From his studies he found that gravity seals could be incredibly useful. They could be used as weights, quick subduing tactics, or if you even wanted or cared to they could be used in reverse and lower your gravity causing you to float. After getting the go ahead from Jiraiya he placed a four-limb gravity seal on his body to be used as weights. Each seal on his limbs would automatically increase by a pound each week. He placed the seals on himself three weeks ago, so he was now up to twelve-pounds total. He also placed the 'Cloud Walker Seal' on his chest, because being able to float in mid-air while sounding whimsical and foolish at first-glance, in reality could be a lifesaver. Kicked off a cliff? Cloud walker. Stuck on water and the enemy has a raiton jutsu ready? Cloud walker. Feeling too lazy to walk, or injured to the point that movement would kill you? Cloud walker!

The seal he was studying today however was the 'Rock-Drop Seal'. The seal automatically adds three-hundred pounds of pressure on whatever it is placed, be it an enemy or an object. These are usually used as a way of quickly subduing enemies and unless they were used to such weight barring down on their bodies, they would literally drop like a rock.

Naruto has also placed a few more seals on himself with Jiraiya's approval. One is the 'Chakra Storage Seal' this was a basic seal that siphoned chakra from whoever it was placed to be used for later, which he drew on his right shoulder in the form shape of the Uzumaki clan symbol. This seal was created by the Uzumaki clan along with its derivative the 'Chakra Leech Seal' which was used as a blood tag to steal chakra from enemies and using Uzumaki blood it would release the stored chakra into whoever had it on at the time. It was advised that only Uzumaki use the chakra storage seal as it constantly stores away chakra and if someone should be low on chakra and knocked-out before they had a chance to use it, the seal could very well suck them dry.

The second type of seal that Naruto had, was a mid-size storage seal on each of his wrists that held thirty kunai and twenty shuriken in seal each seal, adding up to sixty kunai and forty shuriken in total. In combination with this, Jiraiya also taught him the 'Weapon Gathering Jutsu', any kunai and shuriken with a simple seal written on them would be summoned inside of Naruto's seals with the hand-seals Horse and Ram.

"Oi! Naruto!" Jiraiya called out as he walked up behind him.

Naruto turned from his studies and smiled at the larger man, "Yes, sensei?"

"How are the studies going?" Jiraiya asked as he had just returned from meeting one of his spies in a small village a few minutes away.

"I've reviewed the Rock drop seal and I think I've finally got it." Naruto said confidently.

"Oh? Well then how about a test?" Jiraiya challenged.

"What kind of test?" Naruto inquired.

"Make a seal tag with it on, and if you can successfully place a working tag on me then I'll teach you a new jutsu." Jiraiya offered.

"YOU'RE ON!" Naruto shouted before pulling out a small rectangular paper and his sealing kit from the black ninja tool bag he kept on his right thigh. Naruto then went on to form the ram, boar, snake, and ram hand seals before calling out **"Quick Draw Jutsu!" **This technique was used to draw seals quickly and accurately when time was not an option. He quickly drew the seal on the tag as Jiraiya started running away. _You're not getting away that easy sensei! _

With a single hand seal he made a Kage-bunshin and ordered it to stall Jiraiya while he finished the seal. The clone nodded and quickly ran off after their sensei. The real Naruto turned back towards his work, applying the finishing touches while doing the snake and ox hand seals then pumping some of his chakra into the tag, priming it for use.

_**With the Clone**_

"Get back here Jiraiya-sensei!" The clone shouted as it started to catch up.

"You'll never catch me alive, Gaki!" Jiraiya shouted back before blurring through a set of hand seals and slamming his hands on the ground. **"Doton: Swamp of the Underworld!" **He called, creating a mud-pit large enough for the clone to land directly into after he jumped after the sage.

Thinking quickly the clone de-activated his weights and activated the Cloud walking seal on his chest, allowing him to float over the pit in mid-air, using his momentum to carrying him over it.

"Damn..." Jiraiya cursed as the clone was in hot pursuit. _The brat is getting good. _He thought proudly.

**"Fuuton: Great Breakthrough!" **_Aww dammit..._ As soon as Jiraiya heard the name he knew he was screwed. With a final curse he was violently thrown forward by a massive surge of wind. Jiraiya was sent tumbling a few times across the ground before slamming into a tree, finally stopping him. _Note to self. Make the jutsu an offensive one... and teach it to the brat through using it on him. _He groaned as he slid off the tree and fell backwards.

**"Rock-drop - SEAL!" **Jiraiya heard an infuriating voice shout before he suddenly felt the weight of the world bearing down on him. "So about that jutsu sensei..." Naruto said with a cheeky grin.

"First get this seal off of me because I can't teach, if I can't move." Jiraiya groaned, before feeling the three-hundred pounds of pressure on him vanish. "Next, how good are you with your fire manipulation now?" He asked as he rubbed him ribs while slowly standing up.

"I can melt the rocks now, but I can't make steam out of the water particles in the air yet." Naruto answered.

Jiraiya hummed before nodding. "Alright. Since you were able to successfully place the seal on me, and most chuunin along with some jounin would have been caught by that combo you used on me... so I think you deserve a B-rank attack jutsu. By now you're at least mid-high chuunin so I think you can handle it." Jiraiya told him.

Naruto's eyes lit up at the worlds 'B-rank jutsu' and 'high chuunin', along with a massive grin. "Sweet! What's it called?"

"Katon: Flame Whirlwind," Jiraiya answered before continuing, "The hand seals are monkey, bird, dog, and ram. It's formed like a regular fireball but at the end you need to add a bit of a spin to it."

"I need to spin it?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Let me demonstrate." Jiraiya said, motioning Naruto to move back before doing the hand seals and calling out the name, launching a spinning two-meter wide fireball with five flame lashes circling it. "Whaddaya think?" He asked with a grin, at the awed look on Naruto's face.

"I... must... HAVE IT!" Naruto shouted before turning around facing away from Jiraiya and doing the same set of hand seals, **"Katon: Flame Whirlwind!" **The fireball came out the right size, with a slight spin to it, but lacked the fire lashes. Even with his minor success Naruto still cheered, before asked Jiraiya for some tips.

"Alright, alright. The trick to the spin is to blow out the air to the top right corner of your lips after the initial exhale burst used to make the fireball, this will make the fire spin in a clockwise motion and give it the spin it needs. After that you just need to keep practicing until you can spin it fast enough to that the fireball naturally gives off the fire lashes." Jiraiya told the boy.

"I see... anything else I should know sensei?"

"When you can finally boil the air, tell me and we'll start working on using your wind element to spin the fireball instead of just you exhaling. I'm warning you though, I only want you to attempt this under my supervision and ONLY after you master fire manipulation. Adding wind to fire is very dangerous and if you try it before fully mastering fire, you might just overload it with wind and burn yourself to death. Or explode... both possible." Jiraiya warned with a serious look on his face.

"H-Hai, sensei." Naruto stuttered slightly as he imagined just what would happen if he did try it. Needless to say neither outcome was pretty.

"Good. Have a clone finish reviewing your seals, while you and a few others practice the flame whirlwind. Tomorrow we'll work more on emotion suppression." Jiraiya told him.

"Hai sensei!" Naruto said with a bow, before making a clone to study while he and thirty others practiced the new jutsu. He wasn't too thrilled about tomorrow however... emotion suppression was by far the hardest thing he's had to do, but after Jiraiya explained to him what would happen if his sensor ability went untrained he realised that it was literally a matter of life and death for him.

Jiraiya essentially had him sit on the outskirts of towns and pinpoint certain people or emotions, then he would have to enter the village and try his best to ignore everything going on. When he did this he couldn't feel anger, sadness, happiness, nothing. He just felt like an empty shell... it was an incredibly disturbing sense of existence, to the point where it was just that. He existed and that's it... no more emotional range than a rock. The last thing that Jiraiya had him suppress was fear. Oh how he hated this one. Due to his increased emotional reception, killing intent or KI for short was very-effective against him. So Jiraiya in his... infinite wisdom, decided the best course of action... blast him with killing intent for hours on end until he was able to get over it.

At first Jiraiya only used a genin's worth of KI, by the time he was 7 he moved up to high genin, at 8 Jiraiya bumped it up to mid-chuunin, now he had to deal with low-jounin level. It was not fun. Naruto has seen his death more times than he's cared to remember, but at least there's a benefit to this... only mid-jounin and up could freeze him from KI alone now.

* * *

**Jutsu List**

B-Rank - Katon: Flame Whirlwind - Spinning fireball with five flame lashes surrounding it.  
Hand Seals: Monkey, Bird, Dog, Ram.

C-rank - Fuuinjutsu: Rock-Drop Seal - Applies three-hundred pounds of pressure on whatever the seal is activated on.  
Hand seals: Snake, Ox.

C-rank - Quick Draw Jutsu - Used to quickly draw memorized seals from knowledge. *Imagine the jutsu version of a photo-copy*  
Hand seals: Ram, Boar, Snake, Ram.

C-rank - (Kinjutsu) Fuuinjutsu: Chakra Storage Seal - Constantly siphons chakra into a reserve to be used later. (Notes - This seal was branded a kinjutsu due to the possibility of suffering from chakra depletion to the point of death due to the constant siphoning of chakra.)

C-rank - Fuuinjutsu: Mid-size Storage Seal - Used to seal a medium amount of small objects or a few larger objects. (Notes - To compare the size difference, the D-rank Low-Storage seal is generally used to seal away a single sword/ similar sized weapon or around fifteen kunai. While the B-rank High-Storage seal could hold up to ten larger weapons or hundreds of kunai. An A-rank Mass-Storage seal is used by weapon masters to store large amounts of weapons with varying of sizes.)

D-rank - Weapon Gathering Jutsu - Summons weapons or items with a simple recall seal on them into the specified storage seal.  
Hand seals: Horse, Ram.


	8. Swords

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: VIII**

**One Year Later (Naruto age 10)**

Naruto was on one knee panting, his arms tired from holding up the two wooden swords for the past three-hours, and his body riddled with bruises.

"You're getting better Naruto, but you still leave yourself too open. Remember you have to use one sword to guard while attacking with the other, even if you switch in mid-swing one must always be ready to block or parry. My style is like the wind, ever-changing and unpredictable... it took me years to master, so that you've picked it up so quickly over the past month is nothing short of outstanding." A man in a dark blue with black coat told the boy, before patting him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, you are much like the very wind that my style is based on, which is why I believe that is why it comes so naturally to you. With more practice I'm sure you will eventually even surpass me."

"I understand... Tsuken-sensei." Naruto huffed out and he tried to control his breathing, while ignoring the pain throughout his body.

"I think that's enough for now. Jiraiya should be back soon and we'll have dinner." The man, Tsuken Issanni told him.

A few months ago Jiraiya asked Naruto if he was interested in learning how to use a weapon. Naruto answered that he always wanted to learn how to use the sword or more specifically, two chinese scimitars (1). Jiraiya was a bit surprised not only at the choice of weapon but most people who used a sword prefered to only use one but it wasn't unheard of for swordsmen to use two at the same time. Most people didn't have the dexterity or coordination to dual-wield but seeing as he helped Naruto develop his ambidexterity early on to help with his throwing skills, that wasn't as much of a problem.

So Jiraiya set it up ahead of time, and on his birthday they arrived at a large house on a mountain-top in a remote part of Kaminari no Kuni (Lightning Country). Jiraiya called in a few favours from Tsuken, and the man agreed to train Naruto in Kenjutsu for a full year while Jiraiya looks up some rumors about a new group of S-ranked nukenin called Akatsuki and checking up on what his old buddy Orochimaru was up to.

So here Naruto was, laying on the floor waiting for the fox to heal his wounds while he rests. Another thing that happened on his birthday was Jiraiya finally telling him about his parents and the fox. Jiraiya saw that with Naruto now closer to low-jounin level with the common sense not to go around bragging about his skills, Jiraiya figured it was time to tell Naruto about his heritage. At first Naruto was sad that his parents were dead, mad over his father sealing a demon inside of him, proud that both of his parents died to save both his and Konoha, and happy to know that they loved him and if they could they would be here with him.

Naruto asked Jiraiya about the Kyuubi, and if there was anything he should be aware of. Jiraiya explained that Naruto's rapid healing and ability to lick his wounds shut was due to the fox's influence, and that eventually he would work with Naruto on being able to harness the Kyuubi's potent chakra.

The last thing to happen on his birthday was his introduction to Gamabunta. With Naruto's chakra coils developed enough, and his chakra control already at mid-chuunin level Jiraiya showed Naruto how to do the summoning jutsu and asked him to use enough chakra for a high A-rank jutsu. Naruto did as he was told and soon afterwards a large poof of smoke revealed the toad boss Gamabunta.

The toad boss welcomed him as his new minion and third-generation toad summoner after he passed the test to stay on him while he hopped around for a whole evening. Gamabunta told Jiraiya that the toad elders wanted to meet Naruto before they returned to Konoha so that they could meet the future sage.

After recalling everything that happened last month, his wounds were now reduced from painful stinging to a dull ache and he was able to stand up. "Tsuken-sensei, Jiraiya-tousan will most likely be a little late like always so I'm going to relax at the hot springs until then, ok?" He asked his kenjutsu instructor who was sitting at the dinner table, reading a scroll.

The man looked up at Naruto and nodded before returning to the scroll. With a bow Naruto walked out of the room and returned to his own to change into his robe. As he took off his clothes he took a second to admire himself in the mirror while still in his boxer shorts Naruto had grown to five-feet now and he let his spiky hair grown out to the point that it now reached his shoulder blades.(2) He could also see the defined lines of his muscles, even though they weren't that large due to his age they were still toned from all of his physical exercise over the past six years.

He also guessed he was rather good-looking since a lot of girls his age would blush when he and Jiraiya would enter a village or town. At first he thought that a flu was going around and they were all sick, but Jiraiya quickly cleared that up by telling him that the girls just thought he was attractive. He looked at his face in the mirror, all of his baby fat had been shed through years of training and from the picture that Jiraiya gave him, he closely resembled his father just with longer hair.

Naruto shrugged and put on his bathrobe, while also grabbing a town before heading towards the small hot spring out back. Unfortunately for Naruto, they had finished today's kenjutsu lesson rather early and it was only 5:30. Normally this wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that it the spring they had been rather small, and they couldn't make it into two separate areas. Instead they set up a schedule to be used for the different genders. Females could go from 5-6, males 6-7, females 7-8, males 8-9, and after that it was mixed bathing. And Naruto who was much too tired to look at the clock due to his training, was on his way towards the spring.

Unknown to Naruto, a girl his age was currently occupying the springs. He had deep red hair and solid black eyes, with tanned skin. This was Akihana Issanni, Tsuken's niece. She and her mother Tsuken's younger sister had stayed at the house for a few months before Naruto's arrival. Naruto introduced himself to Akihana and found that she wanted to become a shinobi of Kumo. Even though Akihana didn't like Naruto at first, she started warming up to him until she saw how hard he trained with her uncle.

Akihana had first come here to be taught the 'Lightning Sword Dance' kenjutsu style created by her mother Raimi. She had a few months of experience on Naruto but he was quickly picking up her uncle's 'Slicing Wind' twinblade style and was already showing great promise in it. She was jealous that this new guy could pick up a two-sword style so easily after only a month while she had trained in her mother's single-sword style for the past four months and was only now getting the hang of it. It was infuriating.

She wanted to hate him, curse him, and beat him to a pulp for being so good at everything... but she didn't. She saw first hand that he trained himself into the ground everyday to learn her uncle's style and had to admit that not even she had that level of dedication. She started admiring how he would always get back up and shrug off any pains he had until he could no longer stand. Even when not training in kenjutsu he was always either training his body or studying something. Then her thoughts turned her last statement.

His body... she fought back the blush that was creeping on her face. She had seen him once before training down by the river, doing exercises shirtless. Even though she hated to admit it, she thought he was attractive. Then there was his face... those deep blue eyes that always shinned with warring emotions. Kindness, joy, compassion, burning determination, emptiness and finally the cold efficiency of a trained killer. Those whisker marks that either added to his charm when he was playful, or enhanced his ferocity during his training. Then there were his golden locks that flowed down the back of his head, each spike ending in a perfect point. They either seemed like silky smooth tresses when he was clam or savage thorns when was serious.

Then there was that aura about him. He could be a goofy, fun-loving, approachable kid. He could be the ever-determined tower of confidence that radiates and inspires those around him. Or he could be the vicious cold-hearted shinobi that he's been training years to be that could inspire fear with a simple glance.

Akihana didn't know why her thoughts were suddenly flooded by the blonde enigma. He was like a puzzle to her, a rubix cube that could never be solved because a corner piece kept moving around. She sighed as she finally pulled her thoughts away from him. "Why am I even thinking about him? It's not like I like him or anything... *sigh* that blonde idiot is leaving in a year anyway." She closed her eyes and just rested her head against the rocks, trying to calm herself before she heard a sound outside of the walls that surrounded the hot spring.

Naruto, oblivious to her presence just walked in, still tired and somewhat sleepy. He was too drowsy to make out anything in the steam provided by the hot spring before he opened the door and walked towards the edge of the rocks. He yawned and rubbed his eyes before looking up, and stared directly into the eyes of one Akihana Issanni. They were both frozen for a moment but for different reasons. Akihana because she wasn't expecting Naruto to just walk in on her bathing, and Naruto because he could clearly see her naked body in the water.

Akihana recovered first and after seeing the slight trail of blood seep down Naruto's nose she immediately covered herself and screamed. Naruto snapped out of his daydream by her scream and tried to apologize. "H-Hana-chan! Gomen, gomen! I-I didn't look at the clock when I came back from training so I didn't know you would be here!" Naruto pleaded.

"GET OUT!" Akihana shouted before tossing her bucket straight at Naruto, hitting him in the face.

"Aww dammit, my nose!" Naruto said in a muffled voice as he held his nose to stop the blood flow He looked at Akihana once again to try to apologize only to catch her at the exact moment when she uncovered herself to try to wrap the towel around her body. Now Naruto was really trying to stop himself from bleeding to death.

She screamed again and shouted for him to get out, deciding to cut his losses he simply ran out and figured he would apologize later... much later...

* * *

**References**

(1) Naruto's swords. Shunsui's Shikai scimitars.

(2) Naruto's hair. Imagine SSJ3 Vageta.


	9. Talk

**AN - **Y U NO REVIEW? *cry*

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: IX**

**One Year Later (Naruto age 11)**

It had been an interesting year for Naruto. He was able to use the 'Slashing Wind' kenjutsu style proficiently but still nowhere near mastering it. Jiraiya would stop by every once in a while when he was in Kaminari no Kuni and show him something new, but more importantly he had to talk to his father figure about what happened at the hot spring during the first month.

**_Flashback_**

"GET OUT!"

Deciding to cut his losses he simply ran out and figured he would apologize later, Naruto ran out of the springs and closed the door behind him. He was resting with his back on the wood of the door, wide-eyed but with an odd smile on his face. "Woah..."

"Woah?" A familiar voice asked.

Naruto turned his head and looked at the amused face of his father figure. "Jiraiya-sensei!"

"Hey kid, what's up?" Jiraiya asked.

"Um... maybe I should tell you somewhere more private." Naruto said as he looked around for any possible eavesdroppers.

"Oh...kay?" Jiraiya dragged out the word before following his protegé.

Once they reached the room Naruto asked Jiraiya to wait a minute so he could change back into his clothes, and once he did he let the older man in. "So what's this all about kid?" Jiraiya asked.

"Umm... remember Akihana? Tsuken-sensei's niece?" Naruto started.

"Yeah what about her?" Jiraiya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I walk in on her... at the hot spring... I... saw everything." Naruto admitted with a slight smile that he couldn't keep off of his face. _It was awesome._

Jiraiya's smile at that moment from seeing his godson smile while telling him he just saw a girl naked for the first time, could put Gai's and Lee's to shame at the same time. "Well my boy... I guess It's finally time for 'The Talk.'" Jiraiya said with a sagely nod.

"The talk?" Naruto questioned.

"Yup. Tell me Naruto," Jiraiya's smile turned more into a grin by now, "Did you like what you saw."

Naruto turned red instantly but couldn't hide the smile from his face. "Y-Yeah."

"Good, good! Now I'll be right back, I'm going to fetch our dinner and tell Tsuken that we wont be joining him tonight. This is going to take a while." Jiraiya said as he stood up and walked out the door.

As Jiraiya went for their dinners, Naruto couldn't help but look back at his memories. He could remember her body to the smallest details in his mind, like looking at a still image. Her deep red hair was soaked and stuck to her skin, the water dripping down her body, the way she slowly and sensually opened her eyes... before they went wide in fear, and he could see that her chest was growing out slightly. That confused him somewhat because his chest was flat while hers was like two tiny mountains sticking out, and for some reason he couldn't help but focus on them.

He was drawn out of his thoughts at the sound of a door sliding open, revealing Jiraiya and a clone holding two trays of food. "Now then, let's start the talk!" Jiraiya exclaimed before closing the door and placing a silencing seal on it. "There! That will give us complete privacy so don't be afraid to ask questions, ok?"

Naruto nodded and was handed his tray before muttering a thank you. "Umm sensei, so what exactly will we be talking about?"

"Well the only subject worth talking about of course!" Jiraiya proclaimed.

"And that is...?" Naruto asked, still not fully following.

"Women. Girls. Babes. Chicks. Dames. Gals. SENORITAS!" Jiraiya answered exuberantly.

"Oh." Naruto said off-handedly with a nod.

"Oh? What do you mean oh?" Jiraiya asked with a shocked look.

"I thought we were going to discuss a new jutsu or something but... I suppose I should ask you about what I saw... earlier." Naruto answered with a shrug.

"Right. Now we've established that you *giggle* liked what you saw in Akihana. First do you have any questions for me, so I can just get them out-of-the-way?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah... her chest... It's different. But not like a bad kinda different... I keep remembering it for some reason." Naruto told him.

Jiraiya's grin was plastered on his face. "Well Naruto my boy, it seems that you're a boob man."

"Eh... what?"

"A boob man. There are lot's of different types of preferences! Some men like butts, some like boobs like you, others like different parts of a woman's body over others. I think Tsunade might have subconsciously made you a boob man."

"Kaa-chan? How did she do that?"

"Tell me Naruto, do you admire your godmother?"

"Of course!"

"She raised you so do you hold her in a higher regard than other women?"

"Yeah... I guess?"

"And what's Tsunade's most prominent feature?"

"Her-" Naruto's eyes widened for a moment in realization.

Jiraiya let out a giggle at his student's stunned look. "Was I right?"

"Her chest... it was so big... how is that possible? Why does her chest stick out while ours are flat?" Naruto asked.

"Well Naruto I want you to finish your dinner first while we catch up, then when you're done and full we'll get to the good stuff. I want your full attention during The Talk." Jiraiya told him.

Naruto nodded and the two sat and ate while Naruto told him about his progress in the kenjutsu style that Tsuken taught him. After finishing their mean Jiraiya told Naruto to sit on the bed, while he sat on a chair in front of him. "Alright Naruto, I want your full attention throughout this ok?"

"Hai, sensei!" Naruto saluted.

Jiraiya was completely serious throughout the entire thing and made sure that any questions that Naruto had he would answer. After the two had gotten the serious parts out-of-the-way, Jiraiya grinned and went on to explain the finer points of the female form in great detail. After he made sure that Naruto's photographic memory stored all the terms, images, and positions, he gave Naruto an orange covered book and ordered him to read it then give him his thoughts.

To Jiraiya's pleasant surprise a few days later, Naruto returned to him with three full pages of written notes as well as asking for the next book in the series so he could find out what happened next. The joy and pride he felt when he read the compiled notes that Naruto gave him showing his full understanding on the subject of women along with his godson's want to read his novels was overwhelming. He truly felt like a father whose son completed his rite of passage with flying colors.

**_End_ _Flashback_**

Naruto let out a slight giggle as he thought back on all he learned about girls and now understood why they looked at him like they did. He laid in his bed for a few minutes more before channeling some chakra through his right pinky making a scroll appear. Naruto opened the scroll and pulled out the latest book in Jiraiya's series, titled 'Icha-Icha: The rise of the student.' he opened up the bookmark to where he left off. He was honored that Jiraiya would write a whole book based off of him for his eleventh birthday present and he thoroughly enjoyed the misadventures of 'Oturan' the blonde haired ninja in training who would use all of his learned techniques to fully explore the female form.

He chuckled thinking about the lecherous old man who he's come to think of as a father. Sure he was eccentric and odd at times, but he wouldn't have him any other way. Jiraiya had sent a toad stating that he would show up at the house tomorrow to pick up Naruto, now that his year's worth of promised training was over.

_One more year and I finally get to be a full-blown ninja._ With that thought he also thought back on a certain red-haired girl who had the same dream as him. _Akihana. _He chuckled.

A week after the embarrassing event at the hot spring, Naruto fully and sincerely apologized and thankfully Akihana accepted it. They never really grew close due to Naruto either always studying, practicing, or being too tired to stay awake but through Jiraiya's information he was able to make out that she had somewhat of a crush on him. When he activated his sensor ability he could sense something... it wasn't exactly love... more like admiration?

Letting those thoughts slip, he returned to his book with a slight giggle. Naruto couldn't wait to get back on the road with Jiraiya after being stuck in a house for so long. The wanderlust was getting to him and tomorrow it would be sated.


	10. Yui

******Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Darth Pervius**: The perv is strong in you, young one.

**Naruto**: You... you killed my godfather!

**Darth Pervius**: No Naruto... I am your godfather!

**Naruto**: NO! THAT'S NOT TRUE!

**Darth Pervius**: No seriously kid it's me, stop fucking around its time to go. (Removes helmet revealing Jiraiya.)

**Naruto**: Oh...

**Jiraiya**: Now join me Naruto, and together we shall rule the elemental countries as godfather and godson!

**Naruto**: Will there be girls?

**Jiraiya**: Does a ninja shit in the woods?

**Naruto**: Eh... sometimes?

**Jiraiya**: Then that's a definite maybe!

**Naruto**: ...Good enough for me I guess?

**Jiraiya**: Great kid, now get packed we're going to spend this last year traveling the lands, getting into all kinds of mischief, and I'll teach you my time-tested pick-up techniques!

**Naruto: **Sweet.

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: X**

Naruto awoke in the morning, all packed up and ready to go. He quickly took a shower, put on his gear and sealed the two scimitars that were given to him by Tsuken as a graduation present into his shoulder blades. They were black chinese style scimitars with a hole towards the top end of the blunt side. Tsuken told him that they were made of chakra conductive metal so he advised running his wind chakra through them for added effect.

After fully sealing all of his belongings Naruto walked down to the kitchen for breakfast, finding Jiraiya there waiting for him. He smiled brightly and greeted his godfather. "Morning, Jiraiya-sensei. Good to see you're still alive."

"Likewise." Jiraiya shot back with a smirk.

A cough interrupted what Naruto was about to rebuttal making him just sit down with a huff. "Now Naruto, I want you to continue practicing you're katas and finding ways of improving the style yourself. It's wild and unpredictable like the wind so you should find ways to improve upon it through experience and creativity." Tsuken told his student.

"Hai, Tsuken-sensei." Naruto acknowledged.

"So Jiraiya-sama, where do you two intent to spend the last year?" Tsuken asked with mild curiosity.

"Now, now Tsuken, you know I can't tell you that. I will however say that we will be wandering around, getting lost, and finding ourselves once again." Jiraiya said sagely.

"So you don't actually have a plan?" Tsuken questioned.

"Pretty much." Jiraiya said with a nod.

"Typical. All we did for about five years was wander around... can't say I don't miss the freedom of the open road though." Naruto added.

"Did you not enjoy your stay here?" Tsuken asked his young student.

"Oh It's not that, I had a blast here... It's just that I get restless. I've missed the unfamiliarity of random dirt paths and lonely roads, where I can be free to stretch around and be free." Naruto answered.

"Yep. Kid's got wanderlust. Traveling for so long will do that to ya." Jiraiya spoke.

"Indeed." Tsuken said with a nod, before retrieving a scroll from inside of his coat. "Naruto these are the advanced forms of the slashing wind, learn them once you've mastered the regular form." He said before handing Naruto the green scroll.

Naruto took it happily and bowed to his teacher. "Thank you, Tsuken-sensei. I promise to do my best to master and improve your style."

After saying his goodbyes to Tsuken, Raimi, and Akihana the toad sage and his protegé were back on the road. Jiraiya told him that they would need to pick up some cold weather clothes because their first stop would be Frostfall city in Shimo no Kuni (Land of Frost). Naruto had kept up with emotional suppression training and was now confidant that he could safely enter a village because he could now be next to someone and only passively feel their emotions unless he focused on them.

After a few days travel the two made it to the border between Kaminari no Kuni and Shimo no Kuni. They met a Shimogakure patrol but Jiraiya showed them his traveling permits that he received from the Land of Frost's Daimyo. The three Shimo chuunin didn't try to argue further as they all realised that they were standing in front of a sannin, and even if they wanted to capture him they knew they had a snowflake's chance in hell of that happening.

Two days after the incident with the chuunin squad the two toad summoners reached Frostfall city. It was the civilian capital of Shimo no Kuni and Jiraiya had told him that they would be spending a week here, while he did some business. After finding a hotel to stay at Jiraiya gave Naruto some money and told him to get himself something to eat, as he would be back after dinner time. The boy nodded and decided to walked around the city a bit, to take in the sights. It was a little after 9PM, so he was surprised to still see people up and about.

The city was actually quite a sight. Despite the time and the cold, there was still many people walking around, vendors selling their wares out of stalls, indoor grills that cooked-up the nearby wildlife over an open flame that kept the customers warm. He could also see all the lights reflecting off of the icicles and frost on the buildings, making them almost shine. It truly was an amazing city.

He was walking around looking for something to eat, and he had to admit that the nearby bar and grill smelled pretty good right now. With a nod to himself he decided to check it out, as it seemed to be pretty popular. He spotted a group of girls ahead giggling, while looking directly at him and he was sure that those blushes weren't from the cold.

He smiled inwardly and figured he could put one of Jiraiya-sensei's pick-up techniques to the test, 'Codename: Last-minute wink.' Naruto looked straight ahead and completely ignored the girls, pretending that they didn't even exist. As he drew closer, he still refused to make eye-contact and just before he passed them, he shifted his eyes and looked at them out of the corner of his right eye before winking while still walking away like nothing happened.

He couldn't help but smirk in accomplishment at the sounds of swooning behind him. _Last-minute wink effectiveness confirmed. Hehe, this is kinda fun... enough playing around though, I'm starving!_

Naruto walked in and sat at a corner table, ordering a steak once the waitress came by. He sat there absentmindedly swirling around the tea he was given. Naruto looked up and noticed two slightly older girls looking at him from the bar stool on the other side of the room. The blonde seemed to be egging on the blue-haired girl who was checking him out. Seeing another chance to perfect his 'Game' as Jiraiya called it, he looked the blue-haired girl in the eyes and gave a slight smile as an invitation before looking back down at his tea. _'Codename: Mysterious traveler act - Engaged!'_

He waited for the girl to make the first move and after a few minutes of swirling around his tea he felt her presence across from the table. "Hey, you look kinda lonely sitting here all by yourself. Would you like some company?" She asked.

Naruto heard his cue and looked up at her, she had short blue hair pulled into a small ponytail while two large bangs framed her face. The girls also had vibrant green eyes and a slight mole on the left side of her lips. He also noticed that she was wearing a Shima headband around her neck like a choker.

Putting his plan into action he looked up at her with a slight smile and simple said 'sure.' The girl sat down across from him and introduced herself as Yui Shibara. Naruto extended his hand with a smile, "Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

"Are you new here Naruto-kun? I haven't seen you around." Yui asked.

"Yeah, I wandered into this town a few hours ago. It looked pretty cool... no pun intended, so I figured I could stay here for a few days and take in the sights." Naruto answered.

"Oh? Are you a merchant, or part of a caravan?" Yui asked.

"Nah, just a traveler. I wander from place to place, getting lost and discovering new places, meeting new people. It's really quite liberating." Naruto said as he leaned back into his chair and looked out of the window he was next to, refusing to look at the girl until it was his que.

"Really?" Yui gushed, "That sounds amazing! Don't you get scared out there though? I don't see a headband on you so you don't look like a ninja." She asked.

"Yeah It's pretty great, the sights are amazing and being in tuned with nature is really relaxing... and no I'm not a ninja, but I know some basic fighting to fend off any animals in the wilderness so there really is no reason to be scared." Naruto said, only glancing back at her slightly before returning to the window.

"Mou... I wish I could just cut loose and relax like that, being a ninja can be so stressful at times. What I wouldn't give to just have some relaxation time." Yui lamented.

"Well you're a local here right? Maybe you can show me the sights in this place... I'd really hate to overlook any," At this point Naruto turned his full attention to her and stared deeply into her eyes, "...hidden beauties... due to me being new here."

Yui had a noticeable blush on her face and held her hands up to her cheeks to hide it. "I-I'd love to show you around sometime Naruto-kun!" Naruto couldn't help but smile at this. _Hook, Line, and Sinker._

"Really? That's great Yui-chan, I hope I'm not a bother and... I'm really looking forward to it." Naruto said with a slightly larger smile causing the older girl to grin at him.

"Oh It's my pleasure, Naruto-kun! Just meet me here tomorrow say around... sixish? I'll show you all the greatest places his city has to offer!" Yui said excitedly.

"Sounds awesome, I can't wait." Naruto said with slight grin before his order came. "Ne, Yui-chan, have you eaten dinner yet? If you have then that's cool, but if not I'll pay for your meal... It's better eating with some company than alone."

"Well... I only had a salad for lunch," Yui's stomach chose that moment in time to grumble, making her blush from embarrassment.

Naruto chuckled slightly, "Go ahead and order what you want then, my treat for being so nice to me."

"You sure? I wouldn't want to impose." Yui asked.

"Positive." Naruto insisted.

Naruto waited until Yui's order was done and they ate together, talking about everything and nothing. Naruto shared stories of his adventures throughout the elemental countries while avoiding any mention of his training, while Yui told him that she made genin a few months back and her team was just not starting on C-rank missions.

After they finished eating and talking, they noticed the time was 11:26 PM so Naruto offered to walk Yui home. Even though she was a ninja and could take care of herself, she was still happily accepted. As they neared Yui's house, they stopped outside of the gates. "Well, this is me, Naruto-kun."

"Nice house." Naruto commented, "Well I'm sure you're tired, so I'll let you get to it. Goodnight Yui-chan." He said before turning on his heals and started walking away but stopped suddenly when he felt a delicate hand on his shoulder, turn him around. "Hm? Yu-mph"

Naruto was shocked silent as Yui planted a chaste kiss on his lips that lasted a few seconds. She had a slight blush on her face as she opened her eyes and pulled away slowly. "Thank you for tonight Naru, I had a lot of fun." She said before running past the gate and inside of her home.

Naruto recovered a moment later and started walking away once again, but this time with a slight smile on his face. "So that's a kiss huh? Sweet..." He turned the corner and made the ram seal to shunshin outside of his hotel room. He pulled out the key and opened the door.

Jiraiya was still up, reading the reports from his spy. He looked up and saw his young protegé walk in. "Where ya been kid?"

"On a date." Naruto said plainly as he laid on his bed.

"Oh?" Jiraiya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep. Secured a second date for tomorrow also." Naruto said with a slight smile as he rested his eyes.

"You've been here for one night and you've already gone on a date, and secured a second one? Damn you work fast kid." Jiraiya said proudly.

"Had my first kiss tonight also." Naruto said off-handedly.

Now Jiraiya was impressed. Less than three hours in the city and he's already been on a date, shared a kiss, and had another date set-up for tomorrow. "Well aren't you the little player?" He said with a huge grin.

"It's all thanks to your teachings master Jiraiya... all thanks to you." Naruto praised before kicking off his sandals and getting under the covers. He was peacefully asleep a few minutes later.

"I'm... so proud! Minato, your son might just take your place as my favorite student!" Jiraiya proclaimed as a stream of fake tears of pride poured down his face.


	11. Warmth

Disclaimer** - **I don't own Naruto

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: XI**

For the past week during his stay at Frostfall village, Naruto had gone on the occasional date with Yui and she was more than happy to help him practice kissing. That week was now up however and it was time to move south once more. Naruto and Jiraiya were exiting the hotel when suddenly Naruto turned to the older man.

"Hey sensei, go on ahead I'll catch up in a few." Naruto said as he turned his head to the right, as if looking for something.

"Gonna go kiss your girlfriend goodbye?" Jiraiya teased.

"Something like that..." Naruto said, completely shrugging off Jiraiya's attempt to embarrass him.

Jiraiya giggled, "Go kid. Make sure to kiss her extra hard though, we wont be coming back to Shimo no Kuni this year. I'll be at the gates, don't take too long." And with that the older man walked off.

Naruto nodded to himself and walked off to where he sensed her to be, "Yui?"

The girl turned around and brightened immediately, "Naru! Good morning!"

Naruto smiled, "Morning, Yui. Can I talk to you for a sec?" He asked as he saw she was with a group of friends at the moment.

"Uh sure, I'll be right back guys!" Yui said to her friends before she and Naruto walked to a nearby alley. "So what did you want to talk about Naruto?"

"Remember how I said that I would only be here in Frostfall for a little while?" Naruto started, which she nodded to. "I'm leaving in about ten minutes."

Yui's eyes widened and her mouth was flapping like a fish, "B-B-But you just got here! It's only been a week!"

"Mm." Naruto nodded, "Unfortunately I have a schedule to keep and I have to go. I just wanted to come find you to thank you for a wonderful week and I hope we'll see each other again some day."

"B-But... where are you going?" She questioned.

"Not even I'm completely sure. I'm moving south though... either the Land of Sound or the Land of Hot water. Not sure." Naruto answered.

"If you have a schedule to keep then how do you not know where you're going?" Yui asked.

"Because I'm a wanderer babe, I only stay in one place for so long before I move on to the next place." Naruto answered.

"When will you come back?" Yui asked as the corners of her eyes started to moisten.

"Most likely not this year, and next year I have to be in the Land of Fire." Naruto told her.

"Hi no Kuni? Why there?" She asked.

"Because of a promise I made when I was a kid."

"What was it?"

"To become a Konoha ninja. Hopefully we wont have to fight each other in the future, and maybe I'll get a mission to come here, but this is most likely goodbye Yui-chan." Naruto admitted.

The girl's tears finally broke through and she rushed over to hug him. Naruto patted her on the back to console her, passively feeling the sadness coming from the older girl. After a few minutes she called down and pulled back enough to look directly into his deep blue eyes, she leaned forward to plant a kiss on his lips which he returned.

After they separated Naruto looked directly at her. Even though he was younger, he was tall for his age and was the same height as the thirteen-year-old girl. "I'm sure we'll see each other again Yui-chan."

She smiled and nodded as she wiped away her tears, "Definitely."

Naruto hugged her once more. "I hate to go Yui. Bye" He said simply, as slowly walked backwards before turning around fully and walking away.

"Bye, Naru. I love you..." She whispered to herself, as she watched him walk away.

What she wasn't expecting though was that Naruto was able to pick up what she said due to his advanced hearing. A look of confusion spread across his face, and he used his sensor ability to lock on to Yui. He felt her sadness but also felt something... warm. He's never felt this one, and it confused him to no end as he walked towards the gates.

_What was that warmth? It felt similar to something I've felt in Kaa-chan and Nee-chan long ago but this time it was different... stronger, but still weak. Like a small flame that has yet to grow. It felt good... It was so warm... I have to feel it again._

Naruto finally reached the gates and met up with Jiraiya, who noticed the boy was deep in thought about something so he decided to speak up, "What's on your mind kid?"

"Something."

"And that something is...?"

"Confusing.

"So are you going to tell me?"

"No."

"Wh-Why not?"

"I have to figure it out myself. I need to feel it again before I can describe it."

"Hm?" Now Jiraiya was interested.

"Yui."

"Yeah?"

"She whispered that she loved me as I walked away, thinking that I wouldn't hear her."

"I see."

Naruto kept walking silently, so Jiraiya continued.

"Well she probably wont be the only one."

"What do you mean?"

"If you turn out anything like your father, then you will be a heart-breaker. He had plenty of girls proclaim their love for him, obviously most of them were for superficial things like his looks or skills, but one of them got through."

"Mom?"

"Yep. Actually it was Minato that had a crush on her, and Kushina fell for him after he rescued her from some Kumo-nins."

Naruto hummed but decided to change the subject, "Where are we heading next?"

"Yu no Kuni. Now that you've discovered girls, we need to make sure that you're enhanced emotions don't get the better of you."

"What do you mean?"

"We need to work on controlling your lust, so that you don't go crazy with it and try to rape some girl."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah that would be bad."

"Very bad."

"So how are you going to train me to control my lust?"

"Metaphorically speaking, I'm going to slather you in ketchup and throw you in the lion's den."

"Ketchup?"

"Metaphor. We're going to the land of hot water so that you can get used to seeing a woman's naked body with out you wanting to ravage it instantly. Trust me the see but don't touch rule will eventually help you in toning down your hormones. We'll probably have to revise this lesson when you get to your teens." Jiraiya explained.

"I see. So essentially we're going to peek on the women bathing as both training and research material?" Naruto nodded sagely, "Brilliant plan, sensei."

Jiraiya smiled brightly, "Ah well thank you Naruto, I do try my best to help my favorite student after all."

"Well what are we waiting for? Steamy scenes await!" Naruto declared before taking off into the trees.

"Damn you're right! Steamy scenes here I come!" Jiraiya shouted before following his student, a perverted grin already plastered on his face from already imagining all the naked beauties.

* * *

AN - Short chapter today cause I'm feeling sick. When I get back from work I'll work on chapter 12.


	12. Prisoner

**AN - **Sorry it took awhile to get this chapter out, I've been sick the past few days and only got better today.

******Disclaimer - **I do not own Naruto.**  
**

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: XII**

**One Year Later (Naruto Age 12)**

Two quick-moving shadows were currently speeding through the forest, they were quickly approaching a village in the distance. Truthfully the size of it resembled a city more than a village but they kept the name due to tradition.

Four other shadows could be seen trying desperately to catch up to them, they were dressed in black with white flak jackets and porcelain masks.

"Wolf-taicho, they've almost reached the village!" An eagle masked Anbu announced, if one could see inside of his mask they would see bulging veins around his clear white eyes. What concerned him however was that his dojutsu could not penetrate the masks they were wearing, and the smaller seemed to jump on air.

"I can see that!" Wolf retorted, "Double-time team 6, we can't let them just waltz into the village after giving us a chase for the past few hours!"

"Hai, Taicho!" The other three Anbu chorused before stepping up their game.

Meanwhile the two in front were having a blast. The older of the two was panting lightly but due to years of shinobi experience he was still far from tired, meanwhile his younger was only slightly tired.

"Sensei, was this really necessary? We've been running like this since the border, plus YOU INTENTIONALLY ALERTED THE ANBU!" The younger one shouted.

"Well it's no fun if we just snuck past like we would have, and if it wasn't for that Hyuuga keeping track of us then we would have lost them long ago. You're wind runner technique works like a charm. The older man praised.

"It would probably bleed anyone else dry in an hour or so though Jiraiya." The younger one said. After he has mastered wind manipulation training, he had started brainstorming ideas for his own jutsu. One that he finally completed a few months ago while in the Land of Hot Water was the 'Fuuton: Karumi no jutsu' or the 'Wind Style: Body Lightening' it combined 'Kage Aruki' or Silent Walking which was the use of proper weight distribution to move soundlessly, and his wind manipulation allowing him to balance on air. He could use the wind to accelerate jump height, decelerate landing, cushion his landing to the point where he could land on a dry leaf and not break it or even displace the air around him so not even the rustle of the wind could be heard.

"Well everyone needs a signature technique right?" Jiraiya offered, "Anyway how you feeling, kid? Ready to become a ninja?"

"You know, we've been training for so long that I've actually forget sometimes that I'm not an actual ninja yet." Naruto answered.

"Heh, well It's not going to be all S-ranks and fame, not at the start at least. Due to sensei wanting you to be on a genin team, you'll probably be stuck doing D-ranks for a while." Jiraiya informed him.

"D-rank? There's a mission rank that low?" Naruto questioned.

"Hah! Yeah there is, but they're pretty much just chores. They help you get to know your team better for a while before you start going out for C-ranks." Jiraiya explained.

"Couldn't I just start on C's? I mean we've done a few unofficially plus a couple B-ranks, and hell even that one A-rank to test my assassination skills." Naruto protested.

"Yeah but you know how the old man is about teamwork and the will of fire and all that jazz. Just deal with it for a few weeks and then you can go out in the world again. I'll make sure to tell sensei that you get antsy if you're cooped up for too long so you'll probably be let out sooner than the other teams if your sensei thinks you're ready." Jiraiya told him, "Oh and sensei asked me to tell you that those missions we completed while we were out are going to be added to your file as soon as you become a genin."

Naruto sighed. "No getting out of it then?"

"Nope." Jiraiya said with a chuckle.

"Whatever let's just go. I'll meet you at the tower, I'm going to use my wind boost." With that small warning, a cyclone of wind appeared around Naruto before he shot off like a rocket into the sky, aiming for the large building with the fire symbol on the front.

"OI! Wait up kid!" Jiraiya shouted to no avail, and looked back just in time to see the Anbu catching up. "Damn." He cursed before increasing his own speed.

**XXX**

Naruto and Jiraiya, after some explaining were let into the Hokage's office and were greeted by the elderly man. "Naruto my boy, I haven't seen you since you were a baby."

Naruto smiled at the old man and bowed deeply. "It's and honor to meet you Hokage-sama."

"Oh please, don't be so formal, not when It's just us anyway." The Hokage said.

Naruto nodded and sat down next to Jiraiya in the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. "Will Sarutobi-sama suffice?"

"Yes that'll do. Now tell me Naruto, how have you been these past, what is now twelve years?" Sarutobi asked.

"I've been well. Jiraiya-tousan and I traveled to almost every country and we trained non-stop except for that one year where I was learning kenjutsu. The traveling was nice, always getting to meet new and interesting people-"

"You mean girls." Jiraiya interrupted with a snicker.

"Them too, but I have looked forward to this day ever since I made the promise to become a strong ninja like Jiraiya-sensei and Tsunade-kaachan." Naruto finished.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at the way he addressed the two sannin but figured that the boy considered them as mother and father figures since they literally raised him like their own.

Seeing the Hokage's face Naruto decided to confirm his suspicions. "While Jiraiya may be my godfather I still think of him as my dad, since he's raised me and taught me pretty much everything I know. And as for Tsunade-kaachan and Shizune-neechan, while we're not actually related they still raised me up until I was three and I can't wait to see them again after all this time."

Sarutobi nodded with a smile on his face, glad that Jiraiya was able to raise Naruto much like he did with his father Minato. "Speaking of Tsunade, has she made any mention of when she would come back?" The old man questioned.

"Not yet. I sent her a toad with the message that we would be heading back to the leaf after we returned from Mount Myoboku, and she sent back a day later saying that she'll consider returning, if only to see Naruto again." Jiraiya answered.

"Speaking of the toad mountain, what were you two doing there?" Sarutobi asked with interest.

"Well it went something like this..."

_**Flashback 10 months ago.**_

*Giggle* "Alright, you ready for the show of a life-time Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, binoculars at the ready.

"Do you even have to ask sensei?" Naruto asked as he had his sealing kit out along with a stack of paper.

"Naruto, words cannot describe how proud I am of you... so I'll do it through interpretive dance later." Jiraiya said as he made himself comfortable on the tree branch.

"You... you're not actually going to do that are you?" Naruto asked somewhat fearfully.

"No it was a joke kid, now if only this steam could make like this tree and leave! I can't get a good look!" Jiraiya whined.

"First off, that was terrible sensei. Secondly, **Fuuton: Gentle Breeze Jutsu**" Naruto did a the rat and horse hand seals before expelling a calm, cooling, breeze from his mouth successfully moving the steam away. A side-effect they also clearly noticed was that the sudden coldness caused many a nip to harden, much to their enjoyment.

"Naruto, you my boy are a genius." Jiraiya said while grinning widely, holding his binoculars with his left and writing with his right. Naruto meanwhile was also doing the same, but had to occasionally look down at his work, as he had not mastered the art of peep scribing yet.

Eventually it was starting to get too much for Naruto and he was having to restrain himself from getting any closer due to fear of getting caught, and of what he might just end up doing if he loses himself which he was. All of the naked bodies was getting to his lust filled mind, and things were starting to go hazy. "Sensei... I... "_**Take them! Take them all Kit! Use my power, dominate them, make them yours!**_ That voice... it's offer sounder so... tempting right now. Jiraiya had paid the boy no mind, but if he had he would have seen that flickers of crimson could be seen in his normally cerulean eyes.

_**Don't resist child, take them, do with them what you wish! We both know you can't fight the urge, use my power and claim them as yours!**_

_No... I can't... do that it-_

_**Do not be blinded by foolish morals. The strong are the ones who rule the world, and as my keeper, those weaker than you are yours to do with by right! Now take those females and mate!**_

_I... I... _Naruto could feel himself slipping, his consciousness teetering on the edge.

_**Foolish child... if you won't do it, than I'll do it myself! **_

Jiraiya instantly turned around as he felt a surge of malevolent chakra behind him. "Shit." He curse but luckily he was prepared and even expecting something like this to happen, therefore he was able to quickly place the pre-made chakra suppressing tags all over Naruto's possessed body, effectively stopping the Kyuubi.

While hesitant at first, Jiraiya convinced Naruto to continue his training and after two months he was able to successfully control the overpowering lust he first felt. Oddly enough the Kyuubi never made an appearance after the first day, and that concerned Jiraiya.

After consulting the toad elders, Jiraiya told Naruto that they would be heading to Mount Myoboku the home of the toads, needless to say Naruto was excited as he had always wanted to visit the place.

One they had arrived, Jiraiya explained that now that the Kyuubi was active they could use the last eight months to train him on using the Kyuubi's chakra. Fukasaku one of the toad elders told Naruto that he would first have to meditate in front of the toad-oil fountain and travel deep into the recesses of his mind where he could find and meet the Kyuubi.

"Meet him?" Naruto asked, unsure.

"Aye, Naruto-chan. You must find the demon fox within your mindscape." Fukasaku told him once more.

"And then?"

"How should I know? All I know is that contact is the first step." The toad said with a shrug.

Naruto sighed and just sat down, cross-legged. He steadied his breath and began slowing down his heart-rate. He woke up in an unfamiliar place, which resembled a sewer. _I hope this isn't my mind... place looks like a dump._

He was walking down a corridor, and noticed that it led into a large room with a gate in the middle. _I guess if I wanted to keep a fox imprisoned, it would be behind a gate. _

Naruto continued towards the gate and slowly a large figure was becoming visible in the darkness, he steadied himself and walked up to the bars.

"Hello Lord Kyuubi." Naruto addressed respectfully.

The Fox raised an eyebrow. "LORD Kyuubi? What brought that about?"

"Well... you are the lord of the demons, are you not?"

The fox grumbled slightly. "As much as I wish I was... no, That little rumor is unfortunately untrue."

"Oh..."

"Anyway... why are you here human?"

"Well, uh, Lord Fukasaku the toad elder told me to make contact with you."

"Well contact established. We now both know beyond a reasonable doubt that I am in fact imprisoned inside of you. Thanks for the reminder, sometimes I forget this big ass gate exists."

"Eh... right."

The fox sighed and laid down on It's haunches. "Why are you still here human?"

Naruto looked a bit sheepish as he looked back into the slitted eyes of the Kyuubi. "You, uh... You're not exactly what I expected."

"Were you expecting a feral beast, thrashing around demanding it's freedom by threatening your life?"

"Honestly? Yeah, I kinda was. You know seeing as you kinda took over my body that one day at the hot springs."

"Well I can do that if you want. Freedom is a worthy goal to have when imprisoned after all. Oh and you were just unfortunate enough to see all that beautiful flesh on a day I was feeling... frisky."

"Uh..." Naruto just stood there, not sure what to say to THAT.

"So what is it that you want, child? As you can see I was very busy in solitary confinement before you got here, and I'd really like to get back to sitting around waiting for you to die."

"Wouldn't me dying kill you as well though?"

"Yes. Which is why I've healed you thus far, but over time the seal will deteriorate like Mito's and eventually I'll have a chance at freedom once again, through bursting out of your stomach like something out of an alien movie."

"How do you know about movies? I'm pretty sure they don't allow big ass foxes inside of theaters."

"I can see them through your memories. Helps keep the boredom away, but after awhile they get repetitive. Go out and watch some more some time so I can get some variety."

"Would you like some popcorn with your movie?"

"Please, and make sure to add plenty of butter, I love melted butter. See you're not the only one who can use sarcasm."

"Yep... definitely not what I expected."

"I learned your human language easily during my stay inside of Mito through her memories, and picked up some more from your mother and you."

"Huh..."

"Would you like to see the night your mother conceived? I can project my memory of that night for you."

"WHAT? OH GOD NO!"

The fox grinned ferally. "Really? And here I thought you were into adult content. I must say those books your godfather writes are quite good."

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled to learn that you approve of his writing skills."

"Oh I approve. I approve indeed. Honestly I can't wait for you to read the next book. *Snicker* Oh Kira you naughty, naughty girl."

Naruto just stood there dumbfounded. "Alright I think I'm just going to leave now before my head explodes." With that Naruto faded from his mindscape.

"JUST REMEMBER I'M HERE ALSO SO DON'T DO ANYTHING WEIRD WHEN YOU THINK YOU'RE ALONE, LIKE CHECKING YOURSELF OUT IN THE MIRROR! I'M THE ONLY SEXY BEAST UP IN HERE!" The fox called out before Naruto fully faded away.

Naruto opened his eyes and Jiraiya was quick to ask what happened. Naruto just sat there motionless in his meditative position for a few minutes before he raised a fist to the side of his face and opened it while making an exploding noise.

_**Flashback end**_

"After that, I visited the Kyuubi a few more times and we worked out our agreement. I'll let him experience the outside world through me and with his permission I can use his chakra. Honestly Kyuubi isn't so bad... slightly on the perverted side, but aren't we all? Plus I'm sure being imprisoned inside of two people getting some, while you can only watch must be frustration... especially when both of his earlier containers were female. Oh and Kyuubi also voices his displeasure. Anyway that's the story on that." Naruto concluded.

"I see..." Sarutobi drawled out, not really sure what to make of it.

"Hey Naruto, tell the Kyuubi that the new book comes out in two weeks." Jiraiya mentioned.

"Kyuubi and I can't wait sensei." Naruto said with a grin.

"Yes I'm also rather anxious." Sarutobi admitted with a slight smile.

"Anyway, Sarutobi-sama, when do I get my headband?" Naruto asked.

"Oh right. Thankfully you two got here a few days early and this year's graduating class will be over this friday. Naruto I'll enroll you tomorrow and you just need to show up thursday for the exam and friday for team placements." Sarutobi informed the boy.

"Nice."

"Anything else I should know about?" Sarutobi asked.

"Other than Jiraiya-sensei wants to take me back to Mount Myoboku in a year or two to begin my sage training, nope that's about it." Naruto told the Hokage who nodded and pulled out two papers.

"Naruto, Jiraiya has informed me that you know of your heritage. Do you know that this entails?" Sarutobi asked cautiously.

"That I will need at least three wives to help restore the Uzumaki clan? Yeah, It's pretty awesome, but I don't feel like settling down for a good while." Naruto answered.

"Yes... well... I meant more of on your father's side." Sarutobi clarified.

"Oh you mean that I have to keep my father's identity a secret? Can do. Jiraiya made me promise never to reveal that little tidbit of information to anyone until I'm strong enough to defend myself against himself going all out." Naruto told him.

"Ah good. Now while we have proof that Kushina was the daughter of Kenzo Uzumaki the last known clan head, making you part of the royal line and the rightful heir to the clan, It's your choice whether you want to reveal it or not. While it will still attract attention to you, it wont have a large as one as revealing you to be Minato's son." Sarutobi said to the boy.

"I would like to be known as the Uzumaki heir if possible, since I do in fact plan on restoring my clan in the future, and building up a reputation as a strong shinobi and heir will only help out my clan in the future." Naruto told the aged Hokage who nodded in agreement.

"Very well. Sign this form, to officially mark you as the Uzumaki heir, and you will be given your inheritance from your mother's side." Sarutobi then placed the second paper in front of the boy, "This is your ninja registration form, fill it out, and then just pass the exam at the academy in two days." Naruto signed both of the documents and with the Hokage's permission him and Jiraiya left to go rent a hotel room for the night.

_It's finally here... my future, as a Shinobi of the Leaf._


	13. Angel

**Disclaimer - **I don't own Naruto.

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: XIII**

**Thursday**

Naruto yawned as he awoke in an unfamiliar bed, like hundreds of times before while traveling. He took a look around and spotted the digital clock on the nightstand that read 6:22 AM, he was used to waking up early so it didn't really bother him. He got up and made his way to the bathroom, where he performed his morning rituals before reaching for a scroll in his backpack labeled 'Clothes'.

After Jiraiya had booked the hotel rooms, Naruto said he would explore the city a bit while Jiraiya went straight for the hot springs. While in town he found a place that made some good ramen called Ichiraku's, which he filed the site away under 'Important information' in the databank he calls his brain. The second place he found was a shinobi shop, that sold both ninja gear and tools.

When he entered it there was a bun haired girl who sort of looked like a panda behind the counter, he saw her blush lightly and figured if he flirted a bit then he might get a discount. It wasn't that he didn't have the money, seeing as he had plenty from his unofficial missions that he and Jiraiya did for the Hokage if they were close by, and from the bounties on the occasional nuke-nin that was stupid enough to try to attack them. Truthfully he just liked flirting.

He bought ten pairs of Anbu style black pants, ten black sleeveless muscle shirts, a pair of sleeve-like fingerless gloves that went up to his elbows, a pair of white Anbu style forearm protectors, and a new pair of black ninja sandals.

Naruto had also asked if he could get plates on the back of the gloves, the left engraved with the Konoha leaf and the right with the Uzumaki spiral. He also stocked up on shuriken and kunai and sealed them into his wrists, which the girl thought was useful but preferred using her scrolls because they could hold more. Naruto had spent the rest of the day walking around the village aimlessly before heading back to the hotel, but on the way back he took a look at the fourth face on the mountain. _Dad... I'm home._

A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts and he walked over to answer it, only to find Jiraiya standing there. "What is it sensei?"

"Came by so we could get some breakfast and then show you where the academy is." Jiraiya told him, and received a nod in acknowledgement.

"Come in Jiraiya, I was just getting ready." Naruto said as he stepped back into his room, putting on one of his shirts, then his gloves and forearm protectors. He walked over to the doorway and put on his black sandals before looking over at Jiraiya. "So? How do I look?"

Jiraiya snickered a bit before answering, "Like an Anbu, kid. If I didn't know that you could fight like one, I'd call you a poser."

Naruto laughed a little and went to sit on his bed. "Yeah I got the idea for the look from those Anbu that were chasing us through fire country. I kinda like the look. It is missing something though." He turned to his clothing scrolls and unsealed his twelfth birthday presents The first was Jiraiya's gift which was a black sleeveless long coat with red flames along the bottom, a large red spiral at the middle and above that, large red lettering that spelled Uzumaki. His second gift was from the toads and it was a small necklace that had a circular pendant with three different colors swirling into each other. The top third was blue with the kanji for spiritual energy, the left third was red with the kanji for physical energy, and the right third was green with the kanji for nature energy. The toads said that when he wore the necklace it would gather slight amounts of nature chakra, and letting his body slowly accustom itself to the foreign energy so that Sage training would be much easier when it came time to learn it.

Naruto put on the necklace and his coat before heading out with Jiraiya to a barbecue place down the street. Naruto raked a hand through his long hair that now reached the middle of his back. "I think I'm going to have to cut this thing soon... It's getting way too long."

"It'll just grow out again the moment you use the Needle Jizo jutsu again though. I stopped bothering with my hair years ago after I made that jutsu." Jiraiya said after chewing on his food.

"Yeah I guess." Naruto said with a sigh.

"So kid, you excited?"

"Yeah. Not so much for the D-rank but I'll officially become a ninja today like you, kaachan, neechan, and my parents." Naruto said with a small smile.

Jiraiya chuckled as he thought back on the past nine years. "You'll probably be the first jounin-level genin in the history of Konoha."

"Heh. Yeah, most likely."

"Well I'm done, you?"

Naruto nodded, and Jiraiya paid for the food before they set out for the academy. When they arrived it was 7:18 so they still had ten minutes before classes started so the two walked to the headmaster's office and introduced themselves.

"Jiraiya-sama, what can I for you today?" The headmaster asked.

"I believe sensei sent word about my apprentice here, joining the graduating class today?" Jiraiya asked.

"Ah yes! Welcome to Konoha, Naruto. I'm glad to see that the heir to the Uzumaki is alive and well, to someday restore the legendary clan." The headmaster spoke.

"Thank you." Naruto responded simply, with a slight bow.

"Now, Hokage-sama mentioned that you would be taking the exam today. Normally this would not be allowed but seeing as you were apprenticed to Jiraiya-sama, I assume that you already know everything we would have covered in the test." The headmaster said to the boy.

"Yes, Jiraiya-sensei had me study Konoha history along with the other nations and villages, and obviously the more practical shinobi training as well." Naruto answered.

"Good, good. You will be testing in room 405 with Umino Iruka. I've already informed him in advance and have all the paperwork ready. Class began five minutes ago so I suggest you start heading over there, and good luck!"

Naruto and Jiraiya thanked him before leaving the office. "Well, I'll catch you after the graduating ceremony kid, I need to go talk to the old man."

"Got it sensei." Naruto said before heading up the stairs and knocking lightly on the fifth door. He opened the door and walking up the chuunin at the front. "Excuse me, are you Umino Iruka?"

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"I'm Naruto, they sent word about I believe."

"Ah so you're Naruto. Well, welcome to my class, why don't you introduce yourself to the rest?" Iruka suggested.

"Uh, alright. My name is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said as he looked over to the rest of the class. He could see the tell-tale signs of fangirls from the hearts in their eyes, and some more hostile looks from the boys in the class.

"Yo teach, who is this kid?" A boy with a puppy on his head yelled out.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto, due to a special condition he will be taking the graduating exam with you all today." Iruka answered.

"So what did you fail last year or something?" The same boy asked.

"No I was in the Land of Frost last year. Actually today is only my second day in Konoha since technically I was born outside of It's walls." Naruto answered.

"Wait so... you didn't take the academy classes?" Kiba questioned.

"No."

"What the fuck! How come he gets to skip four years of this crap and we still had to go through it?" Kiba protested.

"Kiba language!" Iruka shouted.

"Hokage-sama could have just made me a ninja had he wanted to. I'm sure he trusts Jiraiya-sensei's judgement on my skill level, but he asked that I take this exam so I could be placed on a team." Naruto explained.

"Wait. I've only heard the name Jiraiya once, and he's one of the sannin, surely you don't mean him?" A boy with a pineapple style haircut asked.

"The very same." Naruto said with a nod.

"Troublesome, we have to compete with the student of a sannin." The lazy boy grumbled.

Meanwhile another black-haired boy whose hair resembled the ass-end of a duck scowled at Naruto. _What makes him so special? That sannin should be training me! I need that power to kill Itachi!_

"Anyway, where should I sit, Iruka-san?" Naruto asked as he turned to the chuunin.

"Sensei." Iruka corrected.

"Hm. About that seat?" Naruto said, shrugging off the chuunin's correction.

Iruka sighed and looked around, finding an empty seat next to a blue haired girl. "You can sit up there next to Hinata. Hinata please raise your hand for a moment."

Hinata did as she was told and raised her hand shyly. Naruto took one look at the girl and felt something inside of him burn like something lit a small fire. _Indigestion perhaps? No matter..._ He walked up the stairs nimbly, never once taking his eyes off of the girl, who was now blushing deeply from the look that Naruto was giving her.

She had dark blue almost purple hair, a pair of enchanting lavender eyes, an adorably shy look on her cute angel-like face, and a deep blush that seemed to go throughout her face and possibly past her shirt. He could tell instantly that she was a Hyuuga just from the eyes, but while most looked stoic and cold, hers held a kindness and warmth to them that attracted him to them like a magnet. Naruto had finally made it to his seat and walked up to her.

"Sorry, your name was Hinata right?" Naruto asked and Hinata nodded slightly, not trusting her voice at the moment. "Well... excuse me if this a bit forward but you have to be one the more beautiful girls that I've seen throughout my travels in the elemental nations and trust me that's saying something. Now feel free to say no, but would you do me the honor of allowing me to take you out on a date this saturday night?" Naruto asked, while the class just stared at the two of them. The guys were taken aback that he was hitting on the shyest girl in class after only being here for five minutes, while the fangirls were giving her death glares.

"I...I...uh... I..." Unsure of what to do in the situation that she was in, Hinata started stuttering in her panic before her eyes rolled back and she slumped forward into her desk.

"Did... did she just faint?" Naruto asked with a sweatdrop. _I know I can make some girls faint when I do it on purpose but damn... I wasn't even trying that time. _

"Troublesome... that's Hinata for you." Shikamaru said before the class erupted into laughter.

Naruto just sat down, he was slightly concerned for the girl but from the sound of it this may not be unusual for her. _Never did get my answer though, just three I's and an Uh._

Iruka was going over how the test would be split up into three parts, the written test, the physical test, and the jutsu part. Hinata was stirring from her slumber and she noticed the seat next to her was occupied by a tall spiky-haired blonde. She blushed immediately at remembering his question to her and blushed more now that she caught a good look at him. He was definitely handsome, along with those cute whisker like marks on his face. He had long spiky hair that fell down his back, the tips of each spike were also dyed a vibrant red. If he wore a mask she would have confused him for an Anbu judging by his clothes. She also noticed his pendant resembled the two energies to form chakra, but was confused by the third that stood for nature.

"So was the fainting a yes or a no? I couldn't tell." Naruto whispered while looking forward.

"Um... I... well... we h-haven't properly m-met yet." Hinata said in a quiet voice.

Naruto hummed in agreement. "When's lunch?"

"Umm t-twelve."

"Good, we'll go to this place I found call Ichiraku's and get to know each other." Naruto told her.

"O-Ok th-that sounds g-great Naruto-kun." Hinata said quietly with a small smile that Naruto caught from the corner of his eye. That small smile made him feel that fire inside of him once again. _Damn that steak is really fighting back... _

Iruka passed out the written tests and once they were finished it was time for lunch already so Iruka let them out and told them to be at the training grounds at twelve-thirty for the physical part.

Naruto stood up and looked over at the shy girl. "Ready?" She smiled slightly and nodded, "Let's go then. To Ichiraku's!"

* * *

**AN - **So Naruto finally meets Hinata. Unlike most of my other stories this one will not be purely NaruHina. Hinata will in fact be the only Konoha girl he will be serious about though. Who will his other love interests be? Well not even I know that so I'll just wing it like always.


	14. Test

**AN - **I finished this chapter around 11 PM and took off for the midnight launch of black ops 2. It was freezing cold and the line was a god damn mile long. I'll be playing all of today so if you want send me a friend request or invite my gamertag is 'Klainx'. I also play Halo 4 and L4D 2 so hit me up to play to games if you see me.

******Disclaimer - **I do not own Naruto.**  
**

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: XIV**

Naruto and Hinata were walking back to the academy from Ichiraku's, where they shared a meal and talked about themselves. Naruto learned a lot from the shy girl including the fact that she enjoyed cinnamon buns just as much as he did ramen. While he would normally pig-out on ramen when it was just him and Jiraiya, he did have the common sense to only order two bowls and eat them calmly and not inhale them.

The two were now walking towards the academy grounds, in comfortable silence before Naruto turned to the bluenette. "I really enjoyed our date Hinata-chan, hopefully you did too and we can do it again sometime?"

"D-D-Date?" The now red-faced Hyuuga asked.

"Well after you... uh... fainted, I asked that one lazy looking kid if that was normal and he just said that you were a troublesome shy girl and," Naruto chuckled nervously, "Hehe sorry for putting you on the spot like that in front of everyone. I didn't know you would react like that, but I still wanted to have at least a first date with you so instead of outright asking you I used a more subtle approach and just went with lunch. Besides a first date is usually just getting to know each other anyway so nothing to really get worked up about." Naruto said with a kind smile.

At his smile Hinata blushed even harder but nodded nonetheless. "I-I had fun too." She whispered.

Due to his advanced hearing, he still heard her clearly and smiled brightly. "I'm glad. That offer for Saturday is still up, but only if you feel comfortable going I don't want you to feel pressured into going. It doesn't even have to be a date if you don't want it to be, we can just hang out as friends." He said, feeling that odd warm feeling in his chest when ever he looked at her again. He still had yet to figure out what it was. _I think I need an antacid... either It's heartburn from that steak this morning or someone lit a match in my chest. Maybe it's Kyuubi's doing?_

_**Huh... what was my doing?**_

_Kyuubi?_

_**No your fairy godmother. **_

_Right..._

_**What's your wish, sonny? **__The Kyuubi said in a gruff version of an elderly woman._

_For your to not do that again. Ever._

_**Fine. So what was my doing?**_

_As you barbecuing in my stomach?_

_**Oh yeah, nothing like a good ol' barbeque to pass the time while I wait for you to die.**_

_So that's a no?_

_**What do you think?**_

_Right then, forget I said anything._

_**Can do.**_

_Talking to that damn fox is always an odd experience..._

_**I can still hear you, idiot.**_

_Oh... right._

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata had tried to get his attention for the past minute, and could only wonder what was going on as he kept changing facial expressions at random. "Naruto-kun?" She tried again.

"Huh? Oh Hinata-chan! Sorry... I zoned out there for a bit." He said sheepishly as rubbed the back of his head with his hand.

"Wh-What were you th-thinking about N-Naruto-kun?" She asked with curiosity.

"Oh uh, nothing really, just talking to myself... in my head, I hope you don't think I'm weird." Naruto answered.

Hinata just smiled kindly, making the odd warmth in Naruto's chest grow a little more. "N-No I... sometimes talk to myself as well." She said in a quiet voice, just above a whisper.

Naruto smiled at her before noticing that they were now outside of the classroom. "Looks like we made it right on time." He said, noticing that they were now out in the training grounds with the rest of the class.

After a few more minutes the bell rang throughout the academy and Iruka told the class to settle down. "Ok, this will be the second half of the test, Shinobi skills. The cumulative score of this half is worth 85% of your grade. First up is throwing skills." Iruka said before leading them to the throwing targets. "Ok here are the rules for this test, there are 10 different targets. A passing grade requires you to hit at least 8/10 targets. Bull's eyes are worth extra credit."

All of the students lined up to take their turns and soon it was Hinata's turn. Naruto saw that she looked a bit nervous so he placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "I'm sure you'll do great, Hinata-chan. Just breathe and try to calm down, if you're nervous it will throw off your aim. I bet you could even use your byakugan to help you line up the shots better." He suggested.

Hinata smiled shyly and nodded. She followed his advise and took a few calming breaths before activating her dojutsu. With new-found confidence she hit each mark and even two bull's-eyes. She smiled inwardly at seeing her score.

"Well done Hinata, you passed this test." Iruka praised with a kind smile.

"Th-Thank you." She said quietly before heading back to where Naruto was.

"That was great Hinata! I knew you could do it." Naruto said with a bright smile, that made her blush. The rest of the class was surprised that the weird shy girl did so well, while the fan-girls were fuming that 'their Naruto-kun' was encouraging her over them.

A few more people went until they reach the U's. "Uchiha Sasuke, you're next." Said brood prince walked up to the table and took the kunai before using his brother's kunai redirection technique to hit all the targets and every bull's-eye except one. All of his fangirls squealed in delight while chanting his name.

"Excellent job Sasuke!" Iruka said to which he grunted at before moving back to his spot against a lone tree. "Next is Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto simply nodded and walked up to the table, his own fangirls waiting with baited breaths. He looked at all the kunai before looking at the targets. He took two and flung them into the air before taking the other eight and throwing them at the same time, hitting the outer targets on the bull's-eye. The class then looked at the two kunai which were now on the downward descent, before Naruto grabbed them out of the air by the points and threw them into the first two targets, hitting the bull's-eyes for a perfect score. His fangirls were now cheering over how he was better than Sasuke, who was internally fuming over being outdone.

"Amazing! A perfect score! Well done Naruto." Iruka said with a grin.

"Thank you." Naruto said with a smile before walking back towards Hinata who congratulated him on his score. "Thank's Hinata." He said with a bright smile, making her smile and blush a bit as well.

"Hey Naruto-kun, watch me!" A blonde haired girl shouted, but was ignored due to Naruto talking to Hinata. She pouted and glared at the girl before taking her mark, hitting 9/10 and one bull's-eye.

"Well done Ino, you pass." Iruka said with a smile, but the girl just hmphed and walked away. She was disappointed that she didn't do as well as the shy girl who stole the hot blonde's attention from everyone else.

"Ok that's it for this part, next up is Taijutsu. We will be splitting it up and will have a small tournament." Iruka explained before turning to his assistant. "Boys go with Mizuki here, and girls come with me." The class parted and went to the two different ends of the training grounds.

"Ok boys we'll be doing a ladder style tournament. The tournament is mainly for fun and competition so even if you don't win your first match but still show adequate taijutsu skills, you will pass this portion." Mizuki explained before he called out the pairs and the tournament began. The matches went by quickly and now they were down to the last 16.

Choji had fought a civilian boy and won due to his strength.

Even though Shikamaru thought it was troublesome he out-maneuvered a boy from a normal ninja family and won.

Shino won with a well-placed kick to a civilian boy.

Kiba punched a kid to the point of breaking his nose.

Sasuke easily won his fight against a ninja-born boy as did Naruto.

Then there was a fight between two civilian boys and the last fight was between a pale looking guy named Sai and another boy, which Sai won.

"Ok next up is Shikamaru vs Shino. Choji vs Sasuke. Sai vs Jin. And Naruto vs Kiba." Mizuki announced.

Meanwhile at the girl's side, Ino had won her match as well as Sakura and Hinata and another girl. Due to there always being less girls than boys, the girl's tournament always ended sooner. "Ok next up will be Sakura vs Ino and Hinata vs Yumi."

Hinata used her gentle fist to quickly disable Yumi, while Ino beat Sakura in their so-called 'Spar' which was little more than a grudge match over who was hotter Sasuke or Naruto.

"Ok last fight will be Hinata vs Ino. Begin." Iruka said, before jumping out of the ring.

"Why does Naruto-kun even pay attention to you when he could have someone like me?" Ino said as she flipped her hair arrogantly.

Hinata looked down at the ground, thinking her question over. _Why does Naruto-kun talk to me? It's obvious he is quite popular among some of the girls... and Ino is much prettier than me... is it out of pity because he saw that I had no friends? _Hinata was then taken out of her thoughts at the girl's voice.

"You should just stay away from Naruto-kun. A hot guy like him wouldn't be interested in a shy weirdo like you, so just step aside and let me have him." Ino said with a sneer.

"N-No..." Hinata whispered.

"What?" Ino asked, her face scrunched up in anger.

"I s-said n-no. N-Naruto-kun is my friend, and I won't stay away from him." Hinata said, steadily regaining her lost courage.

"Tch. We'll see if he wants to hang out with you after I'm through with you." With that Ino ran straight for Hinata who in turn had gotten in her Gentle fist stance.

Hinata calmly waited for her opponent to reach her, byakugan flaring, she could see each of Ino's movements with precise detail. Just as Ino was about to land a punch on her face, she side-stepped and hit three points on her arm while also hitting two on her leg, making Ino's leg buckle and having her stumble forward due to the momentum.

Ino grunted from the slight pain of having her tenketsu closed, she was holding her right arm that now hung loosely as well as kept most of her weight on her left foot. "You'll pay for that." She then foolishly charged Hinata again only to be on the receiving end of a double-palm thrust to the stomach. Ino was unprepared for the hit and lost all the air in her lungs in an instant before being sent crashing to the ground.

Iruka chose this moment end the match. "Hinata wins. Congratulations on winning the tournament Hinata, this will be added as extra credit to your overall score."

Hinata smiled and bowed to Iruka before rushing over to the boy's side to watch how Naruto did. Right now it was the pale boy Sai vs some kid named Jin. Shino had won his match against Shikamaru while Sasuke used his superior speed to defeat Choji.

Sai meanwhile ducked under a punch aimed for his head and punched Jin in the solar plexus hard, knocking the wind out of the boy and ending the fight.

"Ok next up will be Naruto vs Kiba." Mizuki announced, now seeing that the girls had come over to see the boy's tournament.

Kiba scoffed before putting down Akamaru, "You should just give up pretty boy. I'm an Inuzuka, know what that means?"

"That you stink of wet dog?"

"NO! It means that-"

"You eat kibbles n bits?"

"NO! It m-"

"That you like to sniff other dog's rear ends?"

Kiba was shaking with rage now, "I'LL KILL YOU!" He roared.

Naruto just smirked and how easily he riled up the Inuzuka. "I hope you don't plan to breathe on me, I'm sure your breath would do the job."

Kiba was seeing red now and bull rushed Naruto without even noticing that the other boy had crouched down and now resembled a toad lying in wait.

Naruto was in one of the defensive forms of the Toad Sage Fist. He had crouched down low, knees spread apart with his open hands touching the ground. From this place he could jump straight up, dodge sideways or launch an attack. Due to his training, Naruto was always inclined to finish fights quickly than drag them out. So he sat in wait.

"Now you're going to pay for insulting my clan you asshole!" Kiba shouted, only a few feet away from the calm Naruto. He jumped up and reared one of his claws back, ready to slash Naruto.

Seeing his opening Naruto frog leaped up much to Kiba's surprise and landed a drop kick mid-air to Kiba's exposed chest, launching him back to the ground where he tumbled a few times before sliding to a stop. Mizuki rushed over to Kiba and could see that boy was knocked-out with two dusty footprints on his jacket.

Naruto's fangirls cheered at how easily he defeated the Inuzuka, while the boys were stunned since Kiba was one of the better taijutsu fighters in the class.

Naruto walked out of the right and spotted Hinata so he made his way to her, only to be interrupted by his fangirls. Ino being the one leading the rest. "That was amazing Naruto-kun! You really put dog-breath in his place!" She squealed.

"Uh... yeah thanks, if you'll excuse me though." Naruto said trying but failing to get past his fangirls.

"Wait, where are you going Naruto-kun?" Ino asked.

"Over there." Naruto pointed towards the lonely Hinata.

Ino seeing this scowled and stood directly in front of him. "Forget that weirdo, how about you and me do something this Saturday instead?" She asked while fluttering her eyelashes.

"Eh, no thanks." Naruto said, backing up slightly.

"Wh- What? Why not!"

"You're not my type."

"Then what is your type."

"No point in telling you since you still wouldn't be my type." Then something struck him, "Wait... when did you switch sides?"

"Hmm?"

"Weren't you the Uchiha's fangirl before lunch?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well a lot happened between then and now. The girls got together and there was a large argument over who was hotter and I had to admit you being a fellow blonde was a turn on for me." Ino said with a grin.

"Right..." He paused for a moment as he looked around for something, "I'll be leaving now." He was suddenly replaced with a single floating leaf, gone from sight.

"W-Wait! Naruto-kun!" Ino shouted along with the other girls who took off in search for the blonde.

Meanwhile Hinata was sitting by a tree with her arms covering her knees.

"Good thing I'll only have to put up with that for another day." A voice said quietly from behind the tree, making her jump slightly.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata said as she turned to see the smiling boy's face.

"In the flesh. So how did you do in your tournament Hinata?" He asked, walking around and taking a seat next to her.

Hinata blushed at the closeness before finding her voice, "I... won the t-tournament." She answered quietly.

"Really? That's awesome, congratulations!" Naruto said excitedly before impulsively hugging her.

Hinata's skin now classified as scarlet over her usual cream color. _Don't faint, don't faint, don't faint, don't faint, don't faint, don'tfaint, don'tfaint,don'tfaint,don'tfaint,don'tfaintdont'faintdon'tfaint _"Don't faint..." She unknowingly whispered.

"Huh? Don't faint?" Naruto asked in confusion before seeing her red face. "OH! Ehehe... my bad." He said before releasing her from the hug much to both her relief and displeasure.

"Next up will be Sai vs Naruto." Mizuki's voice announced.

"Looks like I'm up. Wish me luck Hina." Naruto said with a wink before running off towards the spar circle.

"Good luck." She whispered, still trying to recompose herself.

Sai was standing there with his eyes closed and an odd smile on his face. "Hello." He greeted.

As soon as Naruto saw him he raised an eyebrow in wonder. "I can't feel anything." He said under his breath.

"Hm?" Sai tilted his head in confusion.

"I can't feel anything coming from you. It's like you're a blank slate. A person with absolutely no emotions, or perfect emotional control." Naruto answered.

Even though he didn't show it, Sai was definitely surprised. "How can you tell?"

"That's my little secret. Enough about that though, we have a spar no?"

Sai smiled that weird smile again and nodded. "Good luck."

Naruto hummed and nodded. "You too."

"Begin." Mizuki called.

Naruto and Sai stared at each other for a minute before running straight for the other. Both could tell that their opponent was stronger than they appeared and both were ready to match the other. Sai was using an unknown taijutsu style that he wasn't before, and Naruto even though he couldn't use sage chakra yet was still proficient enough in Frog Kumite to use it.

The class looked on in wonder as the two fought with more skill than anyone before them. The two went at it for a good five minutes before Naruto did a leg-sweep making Sai jump up, with Naruto frog leaping into him and landing a frog strike to Sai's stomach.

Sai was thrown back from the hit but back-flipped and landed gracefully in the ring, while Naruto landed on the either side into his defensive frog stance.

Sai was a bit winded from that last hit and looked over at Mizuki. "Mizuki-sensei, I forfeit. Naruto-kun and I could go on like this for a while but he would still win." The pale boy then turned to Naruto and smiled. "Unlike the Uchiha, you are not dickless."

Naruto was taken aback by the odd... compliment? "Uh... thank you?" He said, not entirely sure how to respond to that.

"You're welcome. Now please show the Uchiha how much of a dickless loser he is." Sai said, still holding his creepy smile. Meanwhile the half of Sasuke's fangirls that didn't also like Sai were screaming at him, and Naruto's fangirls were cheering that Naruto should follow his advise.

"Will do... I guess?" Naruto said as he scratched his head in confusion.

Mizuki sweat dropped but just called Sasuke up. "Ok this is the last round of the tournament. Naruto Uzumaki vs Sasuke Uchiha. BEGIN!"

Sasuke had been watching Naruto's fights closely as he was trying to think of a way to counter his odd taijutsu style. The Uchiha's intercepting fist was based around parrying and redirecting your opponent's hits, but Naruto's taijutsu was just too different. He was fighting as if he were a frog... who does that? Sasuke could not for the life of him think of a way to counter a spring-loaded drop kick to the chest, like the one he gave Kiba.

Naruto meanwhile was in his crouched down place waiting for the Uchiha to make his move. "Hey princess, are you going to attack me or do I have to bring the pain to you?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the nickname, "What was that?" He growled.

"You mean the princess crack? Well Sai over there said you have no dick, so I'm assuming that you are just a masculine looking girl and since you're the last of your clan that also makes you the heiress and princess of the jutsu stealing Uchiha, right?" Naruto explained making his fellow guys and his fangirls laugh at Sasuke.

Sasuke was seething in anger as the ridicule. "How dare you?"

"How dare I? How dare I? How dare you, and your clan steal other people's hard-earned techniques and jutsu?" Naruto asked with restrained anger. While Naruto had never been victimized by and Uchiha before, the very thought of their practice pissed him off greatly.

"You know nothing about me! I need your power to kill the man who slaughtered my clan!" Sasuke argued.

"Oh really? You lost your entire family? Hmm that's a toughy and I'm going out on a limb here but maybe you should... GET OVER IT!" Naruto shot back.

"You mock my pain?" Sasuke asked through gritted teeth, his clenched fists shaking in anger.

"Life is pain, princess. Anyone who says differently is selling something." Naruto answered before standing up and getting into another stance, "Now... let's dance."


	15. Eyes

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Disclaimer - **I don't own Naruto

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: XV**

Sasuke was watching Naruto carefully as he had shifted into a new stance. He was still angry at the ridicule from earlier but calmed himself enough to focus on the fight.

"Well princess? Are you waiting for a written invitation or should I go over there?" Naruto asked in a condescending voice.

Sasuke just held his composure. He saw what he did to Kiba by intentionally riling him up, and he would not fall for that. Sasuke bent his knees lower and waited.

Naruto saw his plan wasn't working so he simple let go of his stance and stood still lazily. "Come on Uchiha, you're boring me here."

"Fool. Do you think that I would fall for your petty insults and attempts to anger me like that mongrel Kiba?" Sasuke asked as he glared at his opponent.

"Honestly? Yeah... I hear your kind were rather arrogant so I wanted to see if I could work it to my advantage. Clearly It's not, so I'll simply change tactics and just fight you normally." Naruto answered back with a bored look.

Sasuke saw him turn his head slightly to yawn and sprung forward seeing his opening. _This will teach this idiot to insult the Uchiha clan._

Naruto mentally smirked as he caught the Uchiha bum-rushing him from the corner of his eye. He had stood still long enough to gather enough nature energy for one punch.

Sasuke had reach Naruto and was going to punch him square in the face after moving his head slightly to avoid a lazy punch sent by Naruto, but much to his and everyone else's surprise Sasuke was sent flying to the side with a large red mark on his right cheek. "H-How?" Sasuke asked himself more than anyone else.

"You dodged the first but got hit by the second." Naruto answered vaguely.

"I-I didn't even see you throw a second punch!" Sasuke argued.

Naruto hummed, "Maybe I only threw one punch and you failed to see the genjutsu?" Better they think he used a genjutsu than reveal that he could use nature chakra to an extent.

_Speaking of genjutsu, hopefully they don't test us on that apart from the henge or I'm screwed. _Naruto thought as he remembered being told directly by the Kyuubi that genjutsu would be a physical impossibility for him due his father splitting Kyuubi's chakra in half causing Naruto to be overloaded with Yang chakra and none of Kyuubi's Yin chakra to offset it. The only reason the henge worked was because while yin chakra that governs the mind would have made it an illusion, yang chakra that governs the body made the henge a full body transformation.

"Genjutsu? This a taijutsu fight only!" Sasuke shouted as he stood up.

"Hmm. My taijutsu required genjutsu however. They don't stop Hyuuga or Inuzuka from enhancing their taijutsu with their family traits so why should I?" Naruto answered before looking at Iruka. "Unless I'm in the wrong here, sensei?"

"No. Sasuke some taijutsu styles do in fact use nin or genjutsu along with them and if you were to fight a real enemy they would not stop doing that just to appease you. The fight continues." Iruka said.

"How? I never even see you form any hand seals." Sasuke questioned.

"Funny that an Uchiha would think a genjutsu needs hand seals to be applied." Naruto said calmly as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Just give up Sasuke, as you are you wont be able to land a hit on me. I don't mean that as an insult either just a fact."

Sasuke's anger was beginning to boil over but he reined himself in long enough to see that he almost fell for the blonde's trap. _Truthfully It's a good tactic. If you cloud your enemy's mind with anger, all they will see red and after that It's nothing more than putting down a mindless beast. _Most people would have easily fallen for this, but Sasuke was on a higher level than his other classmates for a reason.

"Like I said before, your attempts to anger me are wasted." Sasuke said cooly.

Naruto smirked slightly. "Clearly. I thought I would have gotten you with that last one."

"Using someone's own anger against them, while an effective tactic, only works on weak-minded fools like the Inuzuka." Sasuke told him to which Naruto nodded.

"From what I read, the Uchiha were always quick to anger when their pride or skills were mocked. Clearly you are a cut above the rest... but not by much." Naruto said with a shrug.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and dropped into his family's fighting stance. He expected the other boy to drop into one as well but he just stood there lazily with his hands in his pockets. _I can't just rush in this time or he'll get me again like last time. _Sasuke analyzed the blonde as carefully as he could, while slowly inching his way forward. _I still haven't seen any movement, but that could also mean that he may have already gotten me into a genjutsu once more. I have to time this perfectly..._

Sasuke saw Naruto slowly slide his hands out of his pockets and chose that moment to springs forward at full speed. Naruto smiled inwardly and faked three hand seals, making the Uchiha stop moments before reaching him to make the ram sign and yell 'Kai', that short pause was all Naruto needed to finish the distance in less than a second and grab one of Sasuke's wrists before driving his knee into Sasuke's stomach hard enough that it lifted him off of the floor slightly. Luckily for the Uchiha the hit was not chakra enhanced or Naruto would have done some heavy internal damage.

Sasuke's eyes went wide as he felt a burst of pain in his stomach, along with all the air in his lungs being forcefully expelled. The next thing he felt was something grab his hair before searing pain shot through his jaw and the right side of his face, then the feeling of flying before crashing into the unforgiving dirt floor. "Iruka-sensei, perhaps you should end the match." He heard the blonde's voice say before his sensei agreed and named Naruto the victor. Sasuke couldn't think clearly for a few moments as his head was still rattled from the punch, but slowly he opened his eyes and dealt with the slight dizziness before sitting up.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes, was the look of slight pity in his opponents eyes. There was something odd about his eyes though, it was like they were looking at only his eyes not himself. Like the other boy was aiming all of his attention at his eyes than him, like he didn't even matter. It was only for a split second that Sasuke saw the look before the blonde turned and walked off.

"Ok that concludes the Taijutsu part of the exam, next will be the jutsu part. If you will all follow me to the jutsu ranged, we'll get started." Iruka said, before leading the class to an open field with a few training posts and a river running through it.

"Ok first you will come up and demonstrate the three required jutsu; henge, substitution, and bunshin. Any other jutsu that you know and can do proficiently will be marked as extra-credit up to a maximum of ten points, with each jutsu worth two points." Iruka said before calling out names to step up and show their techniques.

"Ok next is Sai Hake." The pale boy walked up with a fake smile and did the three required jutsu perfectly. "Excellent, do you know any other jutsu, Sai?" Iruka asked to which the boy nodded.

"**Ninpo: Ink Mist**" Sai said calmly while hold a half-ram seal, and suddenly ink swirled around his body and exploded outwards, making a smoke screen.

Iruka smiled and nodded, marking the jutsu down. "Anymore?" He asked receiving a head shake no from the pale boy. "Ok, you go back."

Sai nodded with a fake smile and walked back towards the rest of the class. While he did know many more jutsu due to his secret training with 'Root' he still had secrets to keep.

Iruka went through a few more students before calling on Sasuke. "Ok Sasuke do the three required jutsu then any others that you know." Iruka said, and the boy nodded before doing the standard three jutsu perfectly.

"Ok any personal jutsu that you know Sasuke?" Iruka asked.

"Yes." He motioned for the teach to back up before flipping through some hand signs and calling out "**Katon: Fireball Jutsu!**" He aimed the fireball towards the sky and let it dissipate.

Iruka nodded and marked it down. "Any others?"

Sasuke nodded and looked at the three training posts before going through a different set of hand seals. "**Katon: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!**" Sasuke shouted as ten smaller fireballs hit the training posts. "That's it."

"Excellent. That's four extra points." Iruka said before he called on Naruto. "Ok do the three then any extra you may know."

"Now there is a slight problem with that. I'm not sure if Hokage-sama told you or not but I cannot for the life of me do the regular bunshin due to a special condition of mine. I can do the Hi no Bunshin or Kaze no Bunshin however if those will work." Naruto explained and Iruka figured it would be fine. So Naruto created both a wind and fire clones, one acting as extra credit. He also did his transformation jutsu along with the substitution perfectly.

"Great. Do you know any other jutsu apart from the two clones?" Iruka asked.

"Yep... you might want to move back more though." Naruto said as he walked towards the river and ran through a set of hand seals "**Katon: Flame Bullet!**" Naruto's fireball was larger but much less controlled than Sasuke's, before the fire died down however Naruto went through another set "**Fuuton: Great Breakthrough Jutsu!**" the dying fire exploded into a fireball twice the size than it originally was. Naruto had to tone down the jutsu so he didn't burn the forest down, but even at their weakened levels the combination could still classify as a B-rank technique.

Naruto then made four hand seals and shouted "**Katon: Flame Whirlwind!**" creating a spiraling fireball that scorched the ground as it made its way to the river.

"And my last one. **Fuuton: Whirlwind Fist!**" He shouted as he threw a punch towards the still spinning fireball, launching a miniature tornado at it. When the two connected the fireball super-combusted and made a spiralling inferno before burning out five seconds later from lack of oxygen.

The entire class was stunned, even Sasuke but he also felt jealousy and anger that Naruto even had fire jutsu stronger than him.

"That was amazing Naruto! You even know about combining techniques!" Iruka praised.

Naruto nodded. "Jiraiya-sensei taught me well. The first combination is the Big Flame Bullet and the second is called the Fire Whirlwind Vortex."

Iruka marked them down along with the combination names. "Do they have a rank?"

"The flame whirlwind is a B-rank the other three are C. The big flame bullet is a B-rank and flame whirlwind vortex is a high-B-A depending on how much chakra is used." Naruto answered.

Iruka wrote down the notes before calling Ino who went last and did her three jutsu along with the mind transfer jutsu. "Ok that concludes the jutsu portion. Mizuki and I will not tally up the scores and a list will be made of who placed where along with who passed. Class is being dismissed early today but return at five-pm to see your scores."

Soon the class started dispersing. Naruto turned towards Hinata who he had standing next to, "Hey Hinata-chan, I need to meet up with sensei and the Hokage so I'll see you later ok?" He said with a smile.

"S-Sure Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a blush while returning the smile.

Naruto nodded and jumped into a tree before using the shunshin to quickly arrive outside of the Hokage's office. He knocked lightly and waited a few seconds before hearing an 'Enter' from inside.

Naruto walked in and bowed to the aged Hokage. "Afternoon Hokage-sama," He then turned towards the other figure in the room "Sensei."

Jiraiya grinned and clapped the boy on the shoulder. "Nice show out there kid! Way to stick it to that Uchiha brat."

Sarutobi looked slightly concerned however. "Speaking of which... it felt like you have some resent towards young Sasuke even though you have never met him before today."

"While I admit that his broody attitude is rather annoying, I don't actually have so much of a problem against him so much as his eyes." Naruto explained as he took a seat.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow before asking, "His eyes?"

Jiraiya hummed and nodded, already knowing Naruto's reason. "The sharingan. I have never seen it but I despise it." Naruto said with veiled anger.

"Why?" The Hokage asked in confusion.

"Many reasons. The jutsu stealing, the control over the Kyuubi, the death of my parents. A few lesser reasons but those are the main ones." Naruto said calmly, his eyes cold and his face hardened.

"So you know?" Sarutobi sounded rather sad.

"Yes. Sensei told me the entire story, and conspiracy after he told me of my parents." Naruto said.

"Will this be a problem?" The Hokage asked seriously.

"If he doesn't bother me or give me a reason to kill him... then no." Naruto answered truthfully.

Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his temples. "Well this just makes everything more complicated. I had planned to have you, Sai, and Sasuke as a heavy fighting team under Kakashi Hatake but that may be a problem now."

"Sharingan Kakashi..." Naruto said quietly.

"The very same." Sarutobi said in an exasperated voice.

"Even though I have a personal problem with the sharingan, I am a shinobi now and the protection of my village takes precedence. I have no doubts that a team with Sasuke, Sai, and I will be quite powerful... especially under a powerful ninja like Kakashi. I promise to stay professional at all times if you decide to place me in such a team and will not let my... distaste over the sharingan stop me from performing my duty." Naruto said with a serious voice.

"It's true sensei. If the kid says he'll do something, especially if he promises, then he'll do it." Jiraiya told the aged Hokage.

Sarutobi looked conflicted before turning to the blonde once more. "Are you sure Naruto?"

Said boy raised his right hand, "I swear on my honor and my shinobi code."

Sarutobi nodded, before summoning one of his hidden ANBU. "Fetch me Kakashi."


	16. Scarecrow

**AN- **I kinda drew a blank during this chapter. I wrote whatever came to mind because I couldn't really think of anything good so this is more or less a filler. Sorry =(

******Disclaimer - **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Birth of a Sage: XVI**

Naruto was leaving the Hokage tower to get some lunch after before heading back to the academy. It was 4:32 PM so he still had plenty of time.

The meeting with Sharingan Kakashi was... interesting to say the least. The man was pleasant enough, and read Icha-Icha so they at least had something in common. For a ninja of his status he did seem rather lazy however.

As he walked towards the ramen stand from earlier he thought back on the meeting with the 'Legendary' ninja.

_Flashback_

The three waiting in the office for a few minutes before a knock on the door was heard. The Hokage gave permission and it opened to reveal a tall silver-haired ninja with one eye covered by his headband. "You called Hokage-sama?"

"Yes. Kakashi, I'd like you to meet Naruto." Sarutobi said as he motioned to the blonde boy in front of him.

One look and Kakashi could instantly see the similarities between the boy and his former sensei. A rare true smile made it under his mask. "So the prodigal son returns?" Kakashi knew that Minato wanted to name his son Naruto and now with a look at him he could see that this was his legacy.

"It's a pleasure to meet a ninja of your status, Hatake-san." Naruto said with a nod of his head in respect.

"Mou mou, none of that. Call me Kakashi, Hatake-san was my father." Kakashi said, waving him off.

"Very well, Kakashi-san." Naruto agreed.

"Close enough." Kakashi replied with an eye-smile, "I assume there is more to this meeting however, right Hokage-sama?"

"Indeed... Kakashi you filed for a genin team this year and I would like to offer you another. If you accept then I will assign you Naruto here, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sai Hake. If they pass the test of course." Sarutobi told him.

Kakashi hummed for a moment. "Does he know?"

"Hai. I'm sure you will teach me as well as my father taught you, Kakashi-san." Naruto answered for himself.

Kakashi nodded and looked at the Hokage with an eye-smile. "I accept."

The Hokage nodded before looking at Naruto once more. "Are you sure that it wont get in the way?"

"I already promised it wouldn't Hokage-sama, and I take my promises seriously." Naruto replied.

Kakashi looked confused for a moment before he decided to ask, "What would get in the way of what?"

"Your sharingan. I personally hate the thing, but that will not stop me from performing my duty to my village." Naruto answered bluntly seeing as there was no need to dance around the subject.

"Eh?" Kakashi was taken aback by the answer.

"For personal reasons, I hate all sharingans... natural, stolen, or otherwise." Naruto explained.

"Umm... if you don't mind me asking, why?" Kakashi asked, sweating a bit at already having some resentment from his sensei's son.

"One of the reasons is the way you earned your name." Naruto hinted.

Kakashi paused for a moment before nodding. "The jutsu copying?" Naruto nodded but said nothing in return. "And you think I would take what's yours?"

"I would be lying if I said I wouldn't at least suspect you of it." Naruto replied cooly.

"Well you promised to not let your personal feelings over my sharingan get in the way so I'll promise to never use my sharingan to steal anything of yours." Kakashi offered.

"That would remove one eye but still leaves two power-hungry ones." Naruto answered.

"Sasuke?"

"I could tell from my spar with him that he would do anything to get the power to kill Itachi. Not to criticize your efforts Hokage-sama but I'm sure he will eventually go rogue and leave the village to seek power elsewhere." Naruto stated.

The Hokage nodded sadly. "I have also seen Sasuke falling deeper into his own darkness over that day. I have tried to help him move past the massacre but he seems set on killing Itachi, and if I were to tell him the truth then there would be no doubt he would leave the village and instead plan revenge against us."

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't." Naruto remarked and the three adults nodded in agreement.

"Maybe It's time we work on that seal again, Naruto." Jiraiya spoke up after an awkward silence.

"That would be best. Still no idea how we would get it to work however." Naruto said.

"Well remember the problem we originally had?" Jiraiya said as he leaned against the wall with his eyes closed.

Naruto's eyes widened for a moment before he turned to Kakashi. "Think you could do us a favor Kakashi-san? If this works, I'll no longer have the problem of having to constantly watch my back for spying red eyes."

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow and stood silent for a moment, "And this favor would be enough for you to trust me?"

"Enough for me to no longer worry over you or Sasuke stealing anything of mine. You seem nice enough so if this little problem is removed then I think I could move past your sharingan on a personal level as well as a professional one." Naruto answered.

"What would I have to do?" Kakashi seeing a way to get on his sensei's good side was giving it serious thought.

"We need to study your sharingan so we can create a seal that would protect someone from It's effects. We think we were able to get rid of the genjutsu part but never had a sharingan to test it. The seal is incomplete however as the second part was to block the sharingan's copying ability." Jiraiya explained.

"I see. How exactly would it stop the copying ability?" Kakashi asked with curiosity.

"As you know, when the copying effect is activated the sharingan spins. The seal would need to recognize this and form a protective layer of chakra around the user so it would scramble the sharingan's vision making it blurry." Jiraiya laid out the theory of the seal.

"I would personally prefer to have it constantly scramble the sharingan's vision but if I'm to be on the Uchiha's team then that hurt more than help." Naruto grumbled.

"So when shall we start?" Kakashi asked.

"Tomorrow after team placements." Jiraiya said.

"Works for me." Kakashi turned to Naruto and eye-smiled, "I apologize in advance if I'm late."

Naruto shrugged. "If you are I'll just catch up on my reading."

"Oh? What are you reading?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm finishing up Icha-Icha: Rise of the Student - Snowstorm. I've been pretty busy lately so I haven't had time to read it, but I want to finish it before the next book comes out in about two weeks." Naruto answered plainly.

Kakashi just looked at him oddly for a moment before asking, "You read Icha-Icha?"

"Yeah. Will that be a problem?" Naruto asked before seeing what looked like a grin from under the cycloptic nin's mask.

"Of course not!" He shouted before pulling out an all too familiar orange book from his back pocket, "I love Icha-Icha!"

Naruto chuckled while the two older men smiled. "Well that's good, we have something in common."

"OH!" Kakashi turned to Jiraiya rapidly, "If It's not too much trouble Jiraiya-sama, could I ask you to sign my copy please?" He asked as a pen magically appeared in his hand. Jiraiya smiled widely before autographing the novel.

"I'll have Naruto give you an autographed copy of my next book when I send him the next one. Luckily for you Naruto gets his copies a week before they hit the shelves." Jiraiya told the cyclops who almost squealed in delight.

A thought suddenly came to the jounin's mind however. "This book and the last one had the same character... and looking at Naruto along with the description of Oturan leads me to believe they are the same person. " Kakashi deduced with a giggle at the end.

Naruto nodded with a smile, "Yeah this one, the last one, and the next one are loosely based on our adventures throughout the elemental nations. The first one was back when I would just talk and flirt with girls, this one is based on the week we spent in Shimo no Kuni, and the next will be based on the few months we stayed in Yu no Kuni." He explained.

"What's the next one called Jiraiya-sama?" Kakashi asked in excitement.

"Icha-Icha: Rise of the Student - Hotspring Adventures." Jiraiya answered with a smile.

"I even helped write some of it while doing research with sensei." Naruto said proudly.

Kakashi was shaking with excitement now. "Ooh! I can't wait!"

_Flashback End_

Naruto walked into the small ramen stand and took a seat at the counter waiting patiently.

The waitress walked up with a smile, "Back again?"

Naruto smiled back charmingly, "What can I say? You guys make good ramen."

"You didn't bring your girlfriend this time?" She brown-haired waitress asked as she looked around him for someone.

"Hm?" Naruto was confused for a second before it hit him, "Oh Hinata isn't my girlfriend, we actually only met today at the academy."

The waitress made an 'oh' sound and then flipped open her notepad, "So what can I getcha?"

"Umm one miso with pork and one chicken, please." Naruto answered.

"Coming right up." She said as she flipped her notepad closed after ripping out one of the papers and sending it to the back.

"So how is it working at a ramen stand? I'd probably do terrible at a place like this, because I would be eating more than working." Naruto asked, trying to start-up a conversation while he waited.

The waitress sighed and blew a loose strand of hair out of her face, "You wouldn't think so but it's pretty hard. Especially the lunch rushes. And don't get me started on the heat, It's always boiling back here!" She said before fanning herself lightly with her white shirt. Now that he noticed it her shirt did seem to be sticking to her like a second skin. As the waitress fanned herself she didn't notice that one of the top buttons came loose and opened up.

Naruto raised an eyebrow slightly before forcing it down. Her neck was now exposed and due to her head being turned to the side he caught a perfect view of her neck. He focused on a single bead of sweat that was slowly going down her neck, sliding down like rain drops on a window, he watched it slide down even further as it entered the valley of her breasts. His concentration was broken however when the girl spoke again.

He shook his head lightly and looked back up at her, "Sorry, come again?"

"I asked if you meant the ninja academy." She asked again.

"Oh, yeah. I just graduated today." Naruto answered.

"Really? Congratulations..." She trailed off.

"Oh sorry, where are my manners? It's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto, miss?" He said as he stuck his hand out.

"Ayame," She said with a smile and held out her own hand, "Ichiraku Ayame."

Naruto took her hand and kissed it lightly, "Pleasure, to meet you miss Ayame." He said, making the girl blush lightly.

"Wait so if you graduated then where is your headband?" She asked.

"We're going to receive them at 5PM today. The teachers are tallying the scores and placing them up to see who placed where in each class and overall in the graduating classes." Naruto explained.

"Oh I see." Ayame nodded before she heard a bell and brought Naruto his ramen, "I'd love to chat some more but those bowls are starting to pile up." She said before going to the sink to clean some dishes.

"Thank you." Naruto said before starting on his food. Once he had finished he looked at his watch and saw that it was 4:48 PM "I'm heading out, talk to you later Ayame!" Naruto called out before slipping into an alley next to the stand and using his shunshin to teleport to the academy.

He stayed in the tree that he shunshined to, waiting for the last ten minutes. It's times like this that he truly cherished, where he could just sit back and stare at the sky or take a nap. After years of constant training and studying, you take full advantage of any reprieves.

Naruto hadn't even noticed how fast the time went by before he heard the bell ring. "Huh? Guess I drifted off there for a minute." He shrugged and walked to his class.

Iruka was giving some speech or something, Naruto wasn't really paying attention however as he was looking out the window. "...So make your village proud and be the best ninjas you can be!"

Iruka then taped a large piece of paper to the front wall and turned back to the class, "This year's rookie of the year technically would have been Naruto Uzumaki, but it was decided that because he skipped the classes and only took the exam that we would give it to the runner-up... Sasuke Uchiha!"

The Uchiha was pissed that he was second place in anything, while the Uzumaki hadn't even registered Iruka talking as he was thinking of more important things. _I think I'll have barbeque tonight... I'll ask sensei and see if he knows any good restaurants around here._

"Now remember to be here tomorrow at 8AM for team placements, and again good luck!" Iruka said before he walked out of the class. At this Naruto snapped back to reality and turned to the girl next to him.

"Hey Hinata-chan, I'll see you tomorrow, I have to go talk to my sensei." He said with a smile which she returned and they wave goodbye. As soon as he entered an empty hallway he shunshined to the hotel room that they were staying at.

"Yo, Naruto." Jiraiya greeted.

"Hey sensei. So I just thought about this but... where am I going to be staying?" Naruto asked.

"Here?" Jiraiya answered with an upward inflection.

"I mean permanently. I need to find an apartment, or maybe even my parent's old house." Naruto explained.

"Oh... yeah... that slipped my mind, hehe." Jiraiya said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Age is getting to you old man, soon you'll start calling me sonny and telling me to get off your lawn." Naruto joked.

"I ain't that old..." Jiraiya grumbled.

"So should I go ask Hokage-sama?"

"Nah, he already told me that you can't be given your inheritance before officially becoming a jounin. Your father's will... you know, Iwa, hidden enemies, fangirls, all that jazz. He did give me a key to an empty apartment in the upper east side that was vacant and paid for however. He had it ready and furnished soon after I sent the toad saying that we would return." Jiraiya said as he fished a key out of his pocket and tossed it at him.

"Ok... where is it?"

Jiraiya said nothing but just stood up, placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and a moment later they were standing outside of a door. "Here. Oh and don't go teleporting into my room tonight, I plan on entertaining some... guests." Jiraiya said with a perverted grin while squeezing an invisible pair of boobs.

"Can do. The first time was enough to scar me for life." Naruto said before unlocking the door and opening it.

Jiraiya just scoffed, "You just can't appreciate talent. Boy I'm to a bed like Van Gogh is to a canvas."

"Didn't he cut off his ear and give it to a hooker? Does that mean you'll cut off your dick and give it to her?"

Jiraiya just sweatdropped, "Picasso... we'll go with him."

"Wasn't that the dude that painted all those messed up faces? Either I'm not artsy enough to understand the deeper meaning behind them or he actually just sucked at painting but was really awesome at bullshitting and had suckers believe It's art."

"Da Vinci?"

"Oh that guys cool with me. I heard he was friends with the master assassin." Naruto said with a grin.

Jiraiya just raised an eyebrow, "That's just a myth. There has been no proof of any guild of assassins... ever."

"Maybe they were just that good at stealth? If there are not-so-hidden villages full of ninjas, then why not secret guilds of assassins? Maybe I should have trained to be an assassin while we were in the west instead of a ninja... clearly they know the ways of old. If the legend is true then they were the ones who wrote the tenets." Naruto stated.

Jiraiya just sighed, "You need to stop believing everything you hear. Plus ninjas ARE assassins, just better than those you heard about."

"How so?"

"Jutsu."

"Good point."

"Yeah..."

Awkward silence.

"I think I'll just turn in now. Maybe talk to Kyuubi for a while."

"RIght. Night kid." WIth that Jiraiya vanished with a swirl of leaves.

"I still wonder how he hasn't caught any diseases." He just shrugged and walked into his apartment and closed the door. "Probably a jutsu... guess ninjas do win after all."


End file.
